Boston Red Sox SP Brayan Bello Set to Return From IL, Make Season Debut Tuesday

The Boston Red Sox are set to activate starting pitcher Brayan Bello from the 15-day injured list, manager Alex Cora told reporters Monday morning.

Bello, who has been sidelined with a right shoulder strain since the early days of spring training, will make his regular season debut Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners.

With Bello back in the rotation, the Red Sox are now waiting on Lucas Giolito and Kutter Crawford to follow him off the injured list. Rookie Richard Fitts recently landed on the IL himself, while Patrick Sandoval isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break.

“It helps. We’ve been two guys down. The other guys have done a good job, but obviously he’s obviously a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish,” Cora said. “Velocity’s up – which is very important for us – the action on his pitches is good and we know what he can do.”

Cora said he hopes to get 5.0 innings out of Bello on Tuesday against a formidable Mariners lineup.

In four rehab starts between Double-A and Triple-A, Bello went 0-2 with a 7.07 ERA, 1.571 WHIP and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He last took the mound Wednesday, tossing 71 pitches over 4.1 innings.

The Red Sox signed Bello to a six-year, $55 million contract extension ahead of the 2024 season, at which point he had just 39 MLB starts under his belt. He proceeded to go 14-8 with a 4.49 ERA, 1.361 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 30 starts, seeing his WAR drop from 3.1 to 1.4 year-over-year.

Bello is still positioned to be a key member of Boston’s pitching staff for the foreseeable future, though, right alongside ace Garrett Crochet. The 25-year-old Dominican righty will have his first chance of the season to prove as much Tuesday at Fenway Park, where he is 12-15 with a 4.29 ERA for his career.

First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET.