Red Sox option struggling pitcher Brayan Bello to Triple-A Worcester, move Crochet to 60-day IL

“Just stop talking about bullpen and starting games,” Bello said through a translator on Thursday. “I’ve always been a starter. And when I’ve been successful as a starter, nobody has questioned whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games.”

Bello went 1-4 with a 9.12 ERA in his first six starts before allowing two runs in 13 1/3 innings following an opener on May 5 and May 12. He returned to starting and allowed seven runs in five innings at Atlanta five days later and permitted two runs in 12 innings as a bulk reliever in Boston’s losses to Minnesota and Cleveland on May 23 and 29.

“He always had a smile on his face, interacting with his teammates and you could tell he loved to compete and loved to pitch,” Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said Friday before the Red Sox opened a three-game series against the Yankees. “And I think we’ve lost that a little bit where he was putting a ton of pressure on himself to go out and perform. So one of the things we asked him to do was to fall in love with baseball all over again.”

The Red Sox did not announce who would take Bello’s next turn. Jake Bennett, who has a 4.35 ERA in his first two career starts, is a candidate to make that start.

Bello is 41-42 with a 4.32 ERA in 112 career appearances for the Red Sox. He debuted in 2022, won 14 games in 2024 and signed a $55 million, six-year contract in March 2024.

Bello is due $6 million in 2026, $8.5 million in 2027, $16 million in 2028 and $19 million in 2029. The deal includes a $21 million team option for 2030 with a $1 million buyout that if exercised would make the agreement worth $75 million over seven seasons.

The Red Sox also moved Garrett Crochet to the 60-day injured list to clear room on the 40-man roster for reliever Joe La Sorsa. La Sorsa’s contract was purchased from Worcester after Boston acquired him from Pittsburgh for cash considerations on Thursday.

Crochet has been on the 15-day injured list since April 29 due to left shoulder inflammation. Following Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Baltimore, the Red Sox announced an MRI showed a low-grade lat strain that was sustained when Crochet faced hitters on May 28.

Crochet was 3-3 with a 6.30 ERA in six starts before getting hurt.

Acquired from the White Sox following the 2024 season, Crochet signed a six-year contract in March 2025. was 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA in 32 starts last season when he led the AL in innings (205 1/3) and strikeouts (255) while finishing second behind Detroit’s Tarik Skubal in the Cy Young race.

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