The Boston Red Sox got the kind of rivalry win they needed Friday night. Boston beat the New York Yankees 5-3 at Yankee Stadium, snapping a rough stretch against a team that had caused them plenty of frustration over the past year. Sonny Gray gave them 6 1/3 innings. Willson Contreras and Andruw Monasterio homered. Aroldis Chapman closed it out.
For one night, the Red Sox had something clean to carry forward. But the bigger roster story still followed them into the Bronx.
After Brayan Bello was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, Boston explained what it wants from the right-hander next.
Breslow Comments on Bello
Craig Breslow made it clear that Bello’s Triple-A assignment is not only about mechanics. The Red Sox want him to rediscover the joy and rhythm that once made him one of their most important young pitchers.
“One of the things that we asked him to do was to fall in love with baseball all over again,” Breslow said. “To go down, to compete…he’s going to work hard, we know that…but to kind of remember why he loved playing this game
Bello has spent much of the season fighting the game. He has looked frustrated on the mound, struggled to stop innings from unraveling, and carried the pressure of trying to prove he belongs in Boston’s rotation.
Breslow also said the organization continues to have belief in Bello as a major league starter.
That part matters. This is not Boston giving up on him. It is the club deciding that the big league rotation was no longer the best place for him to work through everything at once.
GettyCraig Breslow.
Bello’s Struggles Became Too Much to Ignore
The move came after another difficult start Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles.
Bello allowed six runs in the first inning, needed 40 pitches to get through it, and finished with eight runs allowed over five innings. The Red Sox lost 8-2, and the decision came later that night.
The overall numbers explain why Boston reached that point.
Bello owns a 6.34 ERA this season, but the split between roles is the real issue. As a bulk reliever behind an opener, he has been excellent. As a traditional starter, his ERA has been over 10.00.
Boston tried to find a workaround by using openers. It helped Bello individually, but it did not fix the team’s larger problem. The Red Sox were still often playing uphill, and the starter question never really went away. It reached the point where they could not keep waiting for that season to turn around every fifth day.
GettyBrayan Bello #66 of the Boston Red Sox. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Final Word for the Red Sox
Bello still has a path back. That matters. The Red Sox did not frame this as giving up on Bello. They framed it as a chance to breathe, compete, and rebuild the confidence that has been missing.
The results forced the move.
The response will decide what comes next.
Red Sox Reveal Brayan Bello Plan After Triple-A Demotion