Boston Red Sox Place Pitcher Brayan Bello on Injured List in Surprise Move

Brayan Bello will miss the next two weeks of action due to right lat tightness, robbing the Boston Red Sox of yet another key starting pitcher.

Apr 19, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello (66). | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox have placed right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello on the 15-day injured list with right lat tightness, retroactive to April 21, the team announced Wednesday.

Bello last took the mound Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He tossed 96 pitches across 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, and did not appear to leave with an injury.

Five days later, however, Bello was sidelined for the remainder of the month. He was scheduled to go against the Cleveland Guardians in Thursday's series finale.

To fill out their pitching staff in Bello's absence, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Zack Kelly from Triple-A Worcester.

The #RedSox today placed RHP Brayan Bello on the 15-Day Injured List, retroactive to April 21, with right lat tightness.

To fill Bello’s spot on the active roster, the club recalled RHP Zack Kelly from Triple-A Worcester.

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 24, 2024

Bello was 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.050 WHIP, 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.5 WAR through his first five starts of 2024. He signed a six-year, $55 million contract extension in March that will keep him in Boston through at least 2029.

The righty showed flashes as a rookie in 2022, when he was ranked as the Red Sox's top pitching prospect, and he took an even bigger step forward in 2023. Although he finished the season 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA and 1.338 WHIP, Bello was 12-9 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.264 WHIP prior to his last two starts in September.

Bello, 24, is just the latest Red Sox starter to hit the injured list this season.

Major offseason addition Lucas Giolito had surgery to repair a torn UCL during Spring Training, effectively knocking him out for the year. Nick Pivetta then got sidelined with a strained elbow flexor on April 3, while Garrett Whitlock suffered a strained oblique on April 16.

Through it all, Boston's pitching staff leads all of baseball with a 2.60 ERA, with most of the heavy lifting coming from their starting rotation. It remains to be seen how long that can be sustained, though, given that Bello won't be able to return until May 6.

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