Brayan Bello admits feeling pressure from contract extension, ready now to handle high expectations

New York Times

13-02-2025

FORT MYERS, Fla. — This time last year, Brayan Bello was coming off his first full season as a starter, one in which he'd taken a solid step forward in his young career, which in turn earned him a six-year, $55 million contract extension and a start on Opening Day.
But as swiftly as Tanner Houck emerged to take over the No. 1 spot in the rotation last season, Bello faltered, struggling to a 5.40 ERA through 16 starts at the All-Star break.
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To his credit, Bello worked to reincorporate his four-seamer and found a better rhythm and mentality on the mound, finishing out the year with a 4.49 ERA over a career-high 30 starts.
In the midst of a tough season, Bello denied that the contract forced him to put too much pressure on himself. With an offseason to reflect, the 25-year-old offered a different tone on Wednesday, the first official day for pitchers and catchers in Red Sox camp.
'Yeah, I definitely felt the pressure early on, especially in the first half, just wanting to live up to the contract,' Bello said through translator Daveson Perez. 'Second half, a bunch of folks here spoke with me and told me to just take it easy and play my game and things went really well in the second half.'
As part of a preview clip for the upcoming Netflix documentary that was shown at Fenway Fest last month, Bello's internal angst was on display as cameras showed him in the clubhouse trying to calm his nerves ahead of Opening Day, the biggest start of his career to that point. MLB and Netflix announced on Wednesday the documentary will air on April 8.
'A lot of blessings happen, a lot of beautiful things,' Bello said of the extension, 'but it came with some pressure, so now I just feel really relaxed and ready to go.'
When all was said and done, there's little doubt Bello, Houck and Kutter Crawford individually — and collectively as a homegrown unit — took a step forward on the mound last season. Each pitched a career-high in innings and found ways to rebound after inevitable struggles.
But for Bello, in particular, 2024 was supposed to be his season to emerge as the club's No. 1 starter.
Instead, it served as part of his learning curve. Too often, he let his emotions take over and let innings get away from him as he lost control mentally.
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'The biggest thing I learned is just to not let negativity linger, start to start,' he said. 'Just kind of shorten it.
'Not letting the starts snowball when things go wrong is something I'm really working on.'
It's part of maturing as a player, but also something manager Alex Cora admitted, with hindsight, that Bello could have worked on in the minors if he'd had more time to develop before his 2022 big-league debut.
'Did he need a little more in the minor leagues?' Cora said. 'Probably, but where we were at at that point as an organization it was good for him to come here and get his feet wet and learn at the big-league level and that's what he's doing.
'Physically he looks good,' Cora added. 'Just keep making pitches, that changeup is a real weapon, the slider is better, four-seamer was better than years past.'
Bello, who is just one month older than Garrett Crochet, could also benefit from a rotation where he and Houck aren't forced to carry the load. Crochet only has one year of MLB experience in a rotation, but has the makings of a No. 1 starter. Walker Buehler and a now-healthy Lucas Giolito figure to give the rotation the veteran experience it lacked last season.
'I like where we're at,' Bello said of the rotation. 'I think we have a bunch of great pitchers. I think it creates a lot of competition, and I think that's where I thrive. So I'm happy about that.'
As he enters 2025, Bello plans to continue leaning on his sinker and changeup while incorporating the four-seamer at the right times and to the right locations. Attacking the zone more aggressively is another area of growth.
'The thing with me is kind of the thing that I've been working on the last couple years, which is just controlling the hitters in the strike zone,' he said. 'I think I've gotten a lot better at it, but I think I still have some room to improve there.'
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As he has every winter since he's been in the Red Sox organization, Bello worked out during the offseason with Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic. They focused on working in the zone and remaining mentally strong on the mound.
'He's still a kid and he's learning,' Cora said. 'That's the most important thing and we know that and I think he did an amazing job in the second part of the season, reintroducing the four seamer, gave him some room to work against lefties, I think that helps him. Velocity was good and the action of his pitches was good.'
Even with Buehler, Giolito and Crochet in the mix, Cora will still be pushing Bello. The right-hander might not be the Opening Day starter this year, a decision Cora has yet to make so early in camp. But the high expectations are still there.
'You still have to perform, it doesn't matter if you perform the first game of the season or the fifth one,' Cora said. 'You still have to perform, and that's what we expect.'
For his part, Bello isn't backing down either.
'Even before the contract, whenever I'm on the mound, I feel like it's my responsibility to do the best that I can and help us win games,' he said. 'Me personally, and I know my teammates are the same way, we just want to do our best work to get to the playoffs and bring a World Series to Boston. That's a lot of what I think about.'