The Red Sox made a fairly surprising roster move after their exciting series win in Milwaukee.
Boston on Monday optioned Brayan Bello, the organization’s top pitching prospect, to Triple-A Worcester. Bello largely struggled in his first two starts of the season, but the demotion was a bit puzzling considering the Red Sox didn’t receive much from the rest of their starting rotation over the first month of the campaign.
Prior to Boston’s series opener in Baltimore, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom explained why the club was inclined to demote Bello.
“Right now, we like this path,” Bloom told reporters, per The Boston Globe. “While we appreciate that many, many of our guys can and do pitch with different roles, that’s not something you want to do just willy-nilly. We’ve said all along, (Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock) are really capable in a lot of ways, but they’re capable of starting. That doesn’t mean that they might not help us in other ways, just as they have in the past. But if you want to allow someone to reach their ceiling, there is a cost to shifting roles all the time. And we felt this way was better for where we’re at right now.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora echoed Bloom’s sentiments, explaining Bello’s option was not about development. Cora also made it clear that the 23-year-old will be back in the majors at some point this season.
Bello admitted it was “disappointing” to be sent back down to Worcester. However, the right-hander might be able to find some solace in the fact that he’s still a big part of the Red Sox’s future plans.
