How Pedro Martinez helped out another young Red Sox pitcher this winter

"I feel more confident with that pitch. I feel I can control it in any count."

Pedro Martinez has served as a useful resource for the Red Sox during his post-playing career. . Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe

By Conor Ryan

February 15, 2024

2 minutes to read

Brayan Bello had work to do this offseason.

Despite some extended spurts of strong play on the mound in 2023 (12-11, 4.24 ERA), the 24-year-old righty entered the winter with several goals in place. At the top of the list? Refining his slider in order to add another plus-pitch to his repertoire.

Thankfully, Bello has a pretty established mentor to turn to when it comes to the art of pitching.

Speaking to reporters down in Fort Myers on Thursday, Bello noted that he worked out with ex-Sox ace and Hall-of-Fame starter Pedro Martinez down in the Dominican Republic this winter.

Bello, who hails from the same country as Martinez, said he stayed at Martinez’s home for three or four days — with the legendary righty working with him on that slider.

“I’ve been working a lot on that pitch,” Bello said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez, as transcribed by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith. “I worked with Pedro in the offseason with the same grip that I had last year. I feel more confident with that pitch. I feel I can control it in any count. Like today in live BP, I used it and I felt really good about it. So it was a good offseason for that pitch. I feel like my confidence is up on that pitch.”

Bello’s best offering on the mound is a sinker, which allows him to keep baseballs in the infield with a steady stream of ground balls. As Smith noted, Bello only used his slider 17.7% of the time in 2023, with opponents batting .304 against the pitch.

Being able to consistently get swings and misses with that pitch should allow Bello to string together longer outings in 2024 — while complementing his four-seam fastball, sinker, and change-up.

“When I got there, my slider wasn’t in the best shape,” Bello said. “So he gave me a few tips and that same day I was able to get a good grip on it and I was throwing it consistently. And the next few days, I’m getting more confidence with it. So it was a very good time I spent with Pedro helping me get my slider back on track.”

The Red Sox are hoping that Pedro’s lessons pay off for Bello entering his third season in the MLB ranks. Bello was arguably Boston’s most consistent starter in 2023, but ran out of gas down the stretch. He entered September with a very respectable 3.57 ERA, but then relinquished 22 earned runs over 26 innings that final month.

“I had a few outings at the end of the year that weren’t the best,” Bello said. “So for me, I needed to tackle that right away. I wanted to tackle that right away being aggressive from the first day. And yeah, I was kind of disappointed the last few starts last year.”

Given the dearth of other established arms in Boston’s rotation, the Red Sox will need Bello to take another major step forward if this team has any hope of exceeding expectations this summer.

“Yes, of course. That’s a goal that I have,” Bello said of establishing himself as an ace. “I know it might not be this year or next year but that’s a goal I have for the long-term.”