For whatever reason, Brayan Bello has lost the ability to start games this year. Whenever he's the first Boston Red Sox pitcher to take the mound, opposing hitters are lighting him up to the tune of a 1.057 OPS, which has led to an impossibly bad 10.35 ERA over 35.2 innings.
Perhaps it's something with his pre-game preparation that's throwing him off, because whenever someone takes on an opener role ahead of him, Bello suddenly turns into the second coming of Pedro Martinez. In 42 innings as a bulk reliever, the right-hander has been utterly dominant, allowing just three earned runs (0.64 ERA) and a .464 OPS.
That has put the onus on the Red Sox to find a suitable opening act for Bello. They tried entrusting the role to Jovani Morán early on, but he didn't take well to the job. So, perhaps those duties will now fall on trade deadline acquisition Erik Miller, who has a history of thriving in such a role.
Late-night Erik Miller fact to get you hyped:
— Red Sox Payroll (@redsoxpayroll) August 4, 2026
He has 10 career starts. And, get this, they are all as an lefty OPENER for a bulk starter behind him.
All happened in 2024, and he succeeded heavily when he did that: 10.2IP, 0.84 ERA, 11 K.
Erik, meet Bryan. Bryan, meet Erik.
It's probably an oversimplification to say that the Red Sox didn't acquire a starting pitcher at the deadline because they got Miller; although his presence does make Bello functionally more viable for this roster, it's also true that the team isn't going with an opener strategy in the playoffs barring complete catastrophe.
Red Sox's acquisition of Erik Miller only partly addressed the needs of the pitching staff
Maybe the team passed up on that market because of the positive update they just got on Garrett Crochet, or perhaps they didn't want to shell out even more prospect depth after raiding the farm system to acquire Adley Rutschman. Either way, Bello is sort of in the next-man-up position in case any other injuries hit the rotation, which could render the idea of an opener moot.
Of course, Miller wasn't acquired solely with that role in mind. His peripherals are outstanding, as he ranks in the 90th percentile or above in strikeout rate, whiff rate, expected batting average allowed, average exit velocity allowed, hard-hit rate, and groundball rate. In other words, he does almost everything well on the mound, which makes it easy to buy into his 2.76 ERA despite terrible command.
He's also under team control through 2029, meaning he could be the closer of the future once Aroldis Chapman finally decides to hang 'em up. Losing Marcelo Mayer is a painful price to pay, but Miller is good enough to make that gamble pay off.
In an ideal world, Bello will remember how to pitch in the first inning again, but for now, the Red Sox have at least gotten him a promising partner in crime.
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