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Brayan Bello's position in the Boston Red Sox starting rotation is in jeopardy as he struggles with a poor start to the 2026 season. The team is opting to use an opener strategy for his next appearance against the Detroit Tigers.
Brayan Bello
Red Soxâ Brayan Bello nears breaking point in starting rotation as Boston deploys opener strategy originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Brayan Bello has been a mainstay in the Boston Red Soxâ rotation for years, but now, it seems his time may be up. After a horrific start to the 2026 season, it seems Bello is on his last legs with the organization.
Tonight against the Detroit Tigers, Bello will be âstartingâ but he wonât be pitching the first inning. Instead, due to his rocky start, Boston has decided to put him behind an opener.
âRight now, itâs anything we can do to get him going, like I said the other day, and get to be Brayan Bello, weâre gonna try,â Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said (via ).
Bello has had a horrific start to the 2026 season, leading to speculation about his future with the team.
Pitching behind an opener means Bello will not start the game but will enter after another pitcher, indicating a shift in his role due to performance issues.
The Boston Red Sox are playing against the Detroit Tigers when Bello is set to pitch behind an opener.
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Brayan Bello
© John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Bello having a horrific start to 2026 may even be an understatement. After being a pretty reliable pitcher last year, this season was a complete turnaround.
As of now, heâs posted a 1-4 record, a 9.12 ERA, 17 Ks, and a WHIP of 2.260 over 25 innings pitched. For reference, Bello finished last season with an 11-9 record, a 3.35 ERA, 124 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.236.
Bello has actually been so bad this year, heâs leading the MLB in earned runs. If he were a qualified pitcher, heâd be the worst in baseball.
Brayan Bello
© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
As a solution, the Sox decided to give Bello an opener in reliever Jovani Moran. So far this season, Moran has posted a 2.33 ERA, 17 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.086 over 19 innings pitched.
The hope is for Moran to go one to two innings without giving up runs, and having Bello take over the momentum from there. If he can, that could help him get his confidence back, which has been quite noticeably shattered.
Brayan Bello
© Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Say Bello comes in after Moran, and still has another bad performance. The Sox still have two minor league options on Bello, and at that point, they need to use one. Going down to AAA would definitely help get his confidence back, as heâd face lower levels of skill and talent.
Plus, at the minimum, it could raise his value, as itâs currently at rock bottom. If the Sox could show that heâs actually decent again, they could ship him off at the deadline.
At the end of the day, Bello probably has one or two more chances to show his worth. Tonight could be the end of the line if he doesnât perform.
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