The Boston Red Sox reportedly are optioning Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester, making the move after the right-hander struggled in yet another start Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Bello allowed eight runs -- including six in the first inning -- as his season ERA ballooned to 6.34 and his record dropped to 2-6. He faced 12 batters in the frame, the most by a Red Sox pitcher in a first inning over the last 75 seasons.
It continued a troubling trend for the 27-year-old. He has a 9.68 ERA in 30⅔ innings when starting this season, and a 0.71 ERA in 25⅓ innings when Boston has used an opener in front of him. Overall, Bello has allowed 15 first-inning earned runs, the most for a Red Sox pitcher through his first eight starts in a season since 1994.
Asked about the splits after Thursday's game, Bello sounded tired of the comparisons.
"First of all, just stop talking about the bullpen and starting games," he said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. "I've always been a starter, and when I've been successful as a starter, no one asks the question whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games. So, just starting from there, just stop that talk, because I'm just having a bad season. That's it.
"It's not whether I'm a starter or I'm a reliever. It's just, I'm having a bad season. I know that I can turn it around. I always have, and I think I will. I always try to come out of these difficult situations, and I think I will. It's just right now, it's just not the best start of the season."
Bello was once viewed as a top up-and-coming Red Sox arm. He posted double-digit wins in each of the previous three seasons, had a 3.35 ERA in 2025 and started Game 2 of Boston's AL Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees last October.
Now, he'll head to Worcester to try to work out his issues, with lefty Joe La Sorsa -- acquired in a trade Thursday from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations -- reportedly set to replace him on the big league roster Friday.
WBZ first reported Bello being optioned to Triple A.
