Boston Red Sox Pitcher Brayan Bello Returns to Mound After Battling Shoulder Soreness

Manager Alex Cora told reporters that Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello has resumed his throwing program after getting shut down due to shoulder soreness.

St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello (66) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second inning at Tropicana Field. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Spring training has only been underway for a couple of days, and the Boston Red Sox are already managing injuries to their pitching staff.

Luckily for them, though, one key starter seems to have avoided something serious.

Manager Alex Cora told reporters Friday morning that right-hander Brayan Bello had been dealing with minor shoulder soreness, per MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo. As a result, the team shut Bello down for several days.

Bello has since been cleared and returned to his throwing plan, but the delay has him lagging behind the rest of Boston's pitchers.

Cora also revealed that Kutter Crawford is dealing with patellar tendon soreness.

Kutter Crawford is a bit behind other pitchers due to patellar tendon soreness. Opening Day definitely not ruled out.

Brayan Bello has minor shoulder soreness and was shut down for a couple days but is back to throwing.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) February 14, 2025

Bello has had to manage several different injuries since making his MLB debut three seasons ago. He hit the injured list with a left groin strain in 2022, right elbow inflammation in 2023 and lat muscle tightness in 2024.

The 25-year-old former top prospect went 14-8 with a 4.49 ERA, 1.361 WHIP, 153 strikeouts and a 1.5 WAR in 30 starts last season. The year before, he went 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 132 strikeouts and a 3.2 WAR across 28 starts.

Bello posted a 3.04 ERA and 1.188 WHIP in the first half of the 2023 campaign, before putting up a 5.49 ERA and 1.494 WHIP in the second half. In 2024, Bello had a 5.32 ERA and a 1.472 WHIP in the first half, followed by a 3.47 ERA and 1.225 WHIP in the second half.

The Red Sox signed Bello to a six-year, $55 million contract extension during 2024 spring training, locking him in as a key piece of their rotation for the foreseeable future. If Bello can get healthy and put together a complete season, he may just live up to that hefty price tag.

There is far less pressure on Bello atop the rotation in 2025, though, as Boston traded for Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet and signed Los Angeles Dodgers veteran Walker Buehler. Lucas Giolito, a former All-Star himself, is also set to enter the fray after missing all of 2024 recovering from an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow.

Bello's shoulder has to make it through another six weeks of spring training and Grapefruit League action before the regular season arrives, but he at least appears to be on the right track.

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