I’m officially giving up on trying to understand the 2026 version of Brayan Bello.
It’s Monday Morning Brushback time, y’all, I guess? I dunno, this is another unorthodox MMBB, but this is what I feel in my heart.
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This is not the first time this season that I’ve gone into the weekend looking to write an article focused on one topic from over the past week, but I can’t lie to myself. I don’t feel the passion about writing 1,000 words about how well Caleb Durbin has been hitting as of late (to his credit). Our bullpen sucks right now; I don’t have the willpower to dive into the nitty gritty just to ultimately end up telling you what you already know after simply watching what happened on Sunday (and what’s already happened in recent weeks).
I can’t stop thinking about this Bello situation, though, so I’m gonna write about this Bello situation and get it out of my system.
I can’t do it anymore with him. I feel like I’ve brought him up a handful of times this season, but I’m just done with it folks. Perhaps this is me coming to terms with the fact that a guy I’ve stuck my neck out for has been real, real stinky. Maybe I won’t have to do much more thinking about him after writing this article, because the Red Sox announced that Bello was being sent down to AAA Worcester following his most recent start—one that could only be described as disastrous.
Another start without an opener preceding Bello on the mound, another dud from the righty. Baltimore tagged him for eight runs, all of them earned, on Thursday by way of seven hits and three walks. The lion’s share of the damage came in the first, where Bello let a six pack of birds cross the plate. It was maybe the most pathetic start in a campaign that’s been peppered with them, and it resulted in an equally pathetic set of comments in the clubhouse after the game. I was taught to not say anything if you don’t have anything nice to offer, so I suppose I’ll just leave the video here and try to keep my blood pressure low.
I wish I could sit here and explain to you why he’s got an ERA south of 1.00 when he enters the game following an opener as compared to an ERA north of 10.00 when he starts the game outright. Maybe it’s all mental stuff. As you could probably tell: I’m not a professional athlete (looking to see if I can become a professional bar trivia player some day, though) so I couldn’t speak to the athlete’s mentality. I could point out that the coaching staff (who’s supposed to be setting their players up for success) has to take some blame for not sticking with the opener plan that was clearly working for Bello, while also reiterating that the guy who signed an eight-figure deal (who I cannot personally begrudge doing so!!!!) has to have a better attitude and has to grow up and not implode whenever he starts a game on the mound. I could mention that Bello’s usage of his quite-bad cutter has gone down (which I’ve called for multiple times on this very website) while also highlighting how his emphasis of the changeup in recent appearances preceding Thursday’s was encouraging, before pointing out that exactly none of that matters right now considering he’s currently a Woo Sock.
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I guess the point I want to make this week is a larger, more existential one. I’m not sure what the future holds for Brayan Bello with this team.
Yeah, I think he’s gonna be back with the big club at some point. I still think there could be a fine pitcher in there for the next few seasons. I think he could give us some strong starts down the line, whenever that may be. If you asked me those questions a few months ago, though, I wouldn’t have used the work “think” so weakly. I would’ve had more conviction in my hopes for Bello, because I’ve always tried keeping a light on for him. This season has rocked my faith in him to the core.
I don’t know how you fix Bello right now. He’s a guy who doesn’t miss bats and depends on getting weak contact is initiating…well, not weak contact. The Red Sox have found themselves in a massive pickle. Funny enough, though, the predicament the organization has is similar to the feeling that I’ve got right now about number 66. It’s something that extends beyond just the tweaks to make with mechanics or pitch usage, and the Red Sox seem to recognize that. CBO Craig Breslow had an interesting comment after the decision to option Bello to the minors: he said he wanted the pitcher to fall back in love with baseball. Again: that’s bigger than your typical X’s and O’s analysis. This is an issue that seems to go deep to the core.
On Sunday, Bello admitted that he “shed some tears” upon being informed that he was being sent over to Worcester.
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As a fan, I endorse the move 1000%. As a human, I admit that I do feel for him even a teeny bit.
I think his body language on the mound has been putrid as of late and I still hated the postgame comments he had on Thursday, but this is still the man’s dream taking a massive hit. We’re not running a charity here, but there’s some honest humanity to be found there. It was a far cry from the comments he had a few days prior, that’s for sure.
Hopefully this is the best thing that’ll happen to Bello.
Maybe he’ll learn from this for the better. I want him to do well because he’s one of our guys, for better or for worse. It’s as simple as that. We’ve seen what he can do when he’s on. We know his strengths, we know his limitations, but the question now goes beyond how to tweak his game for the better. It’s a larger, holistic puzzle that the organization has to figure out.
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I’m not holding my breath any time soon, but my fingers are crossed that we can solve this issue with Bello: for the benefit of us, for himself, and for the club. Until then, I’ve got nothing else to add to the topic because I don’t know what else there is to say.
…………………………….Is this the Brayan Bello redemption song? Sound off below. Don’t let go, Brayan. This world is gonna pull through, I hope.
I’m certain that this song is firmly within the top 25 songs that’s ever been released since I was born (early ‘96). It might be top 10. I’d have to think further. For now, I’ll just listen to it.
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Same time and place next week, friends! Go Sox.
