The Boston Red Sox, who still have MLB playoff aspirations, are set to begin a critical AL East series against their top rival, the New York Yankees. Boston is set to roll with Sonny Gray (6-1, 3.06 ERA, 41 SO)
as the starter for game one of the series against the Yankees.
Before the Red Sox-Yankees series begins, the Red Sox made a handful of roster moves to make the Brayan Bello being optioned decision official.
As you can see, Joe La Sorsa, who was recently acquired via trade with the Pirates, is being activated, and Garrett Crochet is being transferred.
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Brayan Bello Officially Gets Optioned
GettyBoston Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy admits he doesn’t know what to do about starting pitcher Brayan Bello.
MLBTR.com’s Anthony Franco has covered the Brayan Bello situation, and he recently detailed what the next steps could be for the Red Sox right-hander:
“In any case, the Sox probably would’ve proceeded with the demotion based on Bello’s performance alone. He’s in the third season of a $55MM extension signed in Spring Training 2024. Bello posted a 4.49 ERA that year and had a career season in 2025. He turned in a 3.35 mark across 166 2/3 innings, albeit with a drop in strikeouts that has only heightened this year. Bello is playing on a $6MM salary and guaranteed $44.5MM from 2027-29 (including a buyout on a 2030 club option).”
Franco also noted what Brayan Bello said, via Spanish translators, after his rough start on Thursday afternoon:
“First of all, just stop talking about this bullpen-starter crap because when I’m pitching well as a starter, nobody talks about it. Now that I’m having a bad season as a starter, everybody wants to talk crap about it. The first thing is that we should stop talking about it and focus on the good things. Yes, I’m having a bad season as a starter, but I believe things are going to get better.”
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Boston Red Sox Right Now…
GettyInterim manager Chad Tracy has made it clear that Mickey Gasper is earning more opportunities, saying it is becoming difficult to leave the veteran catcher’s name out of the lineup.
Here is the full Red Sox lineup for game one of the Boston-New York series, which always grabs headlines across MLB. This go around, the series is in Yankee Stadium.
“Red Sox 6/5: J. Duran LF C. Rafaela CF W. Abreu RF W. Contreras 1B C. Durbin 3B I. Kiner-Falefa SS A. Monasterio 2B M. Gasper DH C. Wong C”
J. Duran LF C. Rafaela CF W. Abreu RF W. Contreras 1B C. Durbin 3B I. Kiner-Falefa SS A. Monasterio 2B M. Gasper DH C. Wong C
S. Gray SP
The Red Sox are currently in fifth place in the AL East (26-35), and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Boston, very notably, has played much better on the road this season with a 16-14 away record.
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