‘I know I need to keep improving’: Brayan Bello isn’t ready to settle following extension with Red Sox
Bello said he's continuing to set higher goals for himself as he prepares for his second full season in the majors.
Brayan Bello has locked up his first big contract of his MLB career. Now, he’s seeking bigger goals for himself.
The Red Sox pitcher got to ring in his new six-year, $55 million contract in his native Dominican Republic as the team’s taking part in the Dominican Series this weekend. As spring training continues, Bello acknowledged that his goals this spring have to be larger than the ones he set for himself last spring, when he was preparing for his first full big league season.
“To establish yourself in an organization like this, you have to establish goals,” Bello told reporters through team translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “Last year, my goal was to make the team out of spring training. I did it. This year, I’m not going to tell you my goal just yet, but if I’m successful, I’ll tell you at the end of the year.”
Even though Bello had pitched well in his first big league stint at the end of the 2022 season, he wasn’t a lock to make the roster in 2023. But he pitched well enough in the spring to solidify his spot in the Red Sox’ starting rotation when camp broke.
Bello ended up having one of the best seasons for a young Red Sox starting pitcher in quite some time as the organization has struggled to develop pitchers for well over a decade. He went 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA, 132 strikeouts, and a 1.338 WHIP over 157 innings pitched in 28 starts, proving to be the only reliable Red Sox starting pitcher from start to finish.
Bello did have some struggles as his first full season in the majors went along. After going 6-5 with a 3.04 ERA in the first half of the season, September wasn’t too kind to the righty as he had a 7.62 ERA over his final five starts.
Still, Bello showed more than enough promise as a 24-year-old for enough people to clamor for the Red Sox to sign him to a multi-year extension this offseason. As he turns 25 in May, Bello continued to emphasize that he’s not done yet.
“Signing a contract is one big step in my career but that’s already on the side,” Bello said. “My next goals are to stay healthy and be ready for my team. Obviously, you have some goals like being a Cy Young, being an All-Star, winning 20 games and more and hopefully being a Hall of Famer. Those are goals that are always on my mind. I’m working hard for it.
“I know I need to keep improving,” Bello added. “I know that I need to keep getting better. I know this is a big step for me in my career but at the end of the day, I know I have a long way to go and have a lot more to give.”
If Bello got closer to those big-picture goals, he’d almost certainly add some value to his contract. The contract also includes a seventh-year club option that’s worth $21 million, potentially keeping him under team control for another season.
Bello could get his chance to prove that he’s a top-of-the-rotation starter in just a matter of weeks. He’s one of the two pitchers being considered to start Opening Day for the Red Sox following Lucas Giolito’s elbow injury.
As Bello possibly prepares to headline the rotation, he credited a pair of other former Red Sox Opening Day starters for helping him get to where he’s at now.
“[I’ve] learned a lot from Pedro [Martinez], from [Nathan] Eovaldi,” Bello told reporters. “Pedro is teaching [me] how to pitch, but Eovaldi was the one who showed [me] the confidence, how to be confident on the mound, and also how to translate the information [I] get into the field. Pedro is showing [me] how to pitch, but Nate was the one who gave [me] the confidence and how to translate that to the mound.”
Martinez has continually helped the Red Sox since his retirement from playing, serving as a mentor to Bello over the years as well. Eovaldi and Bello were teammates for just couple of months though in 2022.
While Bello is looking to keep it business as usual, he did share some sentiment over the deal and the fact that it was agreed to just a couple of days prior to returning to his home country.
“I’m super happy and super grateful to be able to do this here in front of my family and friends,” Bello said.
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