The Boston Red Sox will finally activate Brayan Bello to make his first start of the year against the Seattle Mariners on April 22.
Bello spent the first month of the season healing shoulder soreness that has bothered him since spring training. He made his final rehab start on April 16 and manager Alex Cora confirmed that the Red Sox will call him up ahead of their series against Seattle.
Bello, the Sox's 2024 Opening Day starter, made some rocky appearances over his rehab stint. He finished with a 7.07 ERA over 14.1 innings, although he showed some signs of promise, like throwing strikes at a high clip. He clocked 21 strikeouts and four walks in his ramp-up to return to the Red Sox.
Red Sox expected to activate Brayan Bello for 2025 debut against Mariners on April 22
Boston's rotation has been inconsistent in the early goings of the season — Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler are still finding their way, Richard Fitts hit the 15-day injured list with a pectoral strain and Hunter Dobbins has been shuffled between Worcester and Boston for spot starts when necessary. If Bello can replicate his second-half performance from last year (3.47 ERA in 72.2 innings,) he could bring much of the stability the rotation has been missing as many of its arms recover.
Alex Cora confirms Brayan Bello will make his 2025 debut tomorrow:
— Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) April 21, 2025
“It helps. We’ve been two guys down. The other guys have done a good job, but obviously he’s obviously a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish. Velocity’s up, which is very important for us…”@WEEI… pic.twitter.com/Mm29b3Pdvo
Red Sox expected to activate Lucas Giolito sometime next week after Mariners series
The Red Sox also expect Lucas Giolito to make his organizational debut shortly. It will not be during Boston's upcoming series against the Mariners, however.
The veteran sustained a low-grade hamstring strain in his first spring training start of 2025. Giolito and Bello were on similar rehab schedules until the former's appearance on April 15. He pitched only two innings and allowed three runs on five hits in 60 pitches. Giolito said he didn't "feel great" about the outing, so the Red Sox decided he would make at least one more rehab start.
On April 20, Giolito threw 65 pitches in five innings and felt much better about his progress. The Red Sox still have not determined how many more rehab starts he'll make — he could be ready for their weekend series against the Guardians, or he may take another start in Worcester to be ready for the following matchup.
Boston signed Giolito before the 2024 season, but he spent the entire year recovering from the internal brace procedure. He's yet to make his Red Sox debut, and it will be interesting to see what he brings to the pitching staff after his prolonged recovery.
Kutter Crawford works toward Red Sox return, will face live batters in Fort Myers starting April 22
Kutter Crawford is also working toward his return to the pitching staff. Like Bello and Giolito, he's also been sidelined since spring training with patellar soreness, which is expected to keep him on the IL until June.
Ian Browne of MLB.com reported that Crawford threw an up-and-down bullpen session at Fenway Park on April 18. He's slated to report to Fort Myers on April 22 to face live batters in an extended spring training, of sorts. It'll be the first time he faces live batters since his final start of the 2024 season on Sept. 28.
The Red Sox are still quite a ways from adding Crawford back to the roster, and he'd be the sixth man in the rotation. Still, pitching depth will be key down the stretch and Crawford will be a huge addition to Boston's arsenal.