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The Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms on a six-year, $55 million contract extension with 24-year-old pitcher Brayan Bello, according to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
The deal “includes a seventh-year club option for $21 million, sources tell ESPN,” McDaniel posted on X on March 7. “The Sox lock up the 24-year-old into the 2030s.”
The Red Sox had been “deep in talks” with Bello on a long-term extension, according to the Boston Globe on March 6. Bello is a candidate to start on Opening Day for the club in 2024, and now he becomes a core piece of the team’s future.
“Bello has continued to evolve with his power sinker and turned his changeup and four-seamer into important weapons,” MLB.com’s Ian Browne wrote on March 7. “This season, Bello is incorporating a new grip on his slider that Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez helped him master over the offseason.”
Bello signed with the Red Sox in 2017, making his major league debut in 2022.
Terms of Brayan Bello’s Contract Extension
Bello was not set to be a free agent until after the 2028 season. The extension will kick in this year, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. This means that the team will now have Bello locked up for 2029, which would have been his first year to test free agency. Additionally, the contract includes a seventh-year club option valued at $21 million, according to McDaniel.
The Red Sox potentially have Bello secured through the 2030 season and Bello will receive a $1 million signing bonus along with escalators that can increase the total value of the deal, according to Cotillo.
The deal negates any potential arbitration hearings they would have needed.
Future of the Red Sox Rotation
In 2022, the Red Sox signed Garrett Whitlock to a four-year, $18.75 million extension. Whitlock was a Rule 5 pick and has club options that could keep him with the club through 2028.
In 2023, Bello posted a 4.24 ERA and 107 ERA+. However, before the All-Star Game was 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA while the Red Sox were still in the mix to make the postseason. Whitlock posted a 5.15 ERA in 2023 but only made 10 starts.
However, free agent acquisition Lucas Giolito could potentially miss the 2024 season, according to ESPN. Whitlock could find himself making more starts in 2024 with the injury to Giolito.
While Whitlock has served more as a reliever, he could be asked to make more contributions as a starter.
Considering the market for starting pitchers in free agency, the Red Sox needed to come to an agreement with Bello before he reached the open market. The Red Sox are not the only team to take this approach.
The Houston Astros signed Cristian Javier to a five-year, $64 million contract when he was 25 years old and the Milwaukee Brewers signed Aaron Ashby to a five-year, $20.5 million extension when he was 24 years old, according to Spotrac.
Since arriving in the majors, he has made 39 starts for the Red Sox and pitched 214.1 innings. With his new extension and talent, he could be the face of the Red Sox’s rotation for years to come and “one of Boston’s best homegrown starters in the past decade,” Browne wrote.
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