On Friday, Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello left the Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic Team, even with the Dominican team advancing to the tournament quarterfinals. Upon returning to spring training, he gave an interesting explanation, and one that Red Sox fans will likely appreciate.
Seven teams in the World Baseball Classic feature Red Sox players, and almost all of them have turned in eye-opening performances. Among the most notable, outfielder Jarren Duran belted three home runs in four games: another Boston outfielder, Roman Anthony, compiled a 1.007 OPS in Team USA’s first four games; designated hitter Masataka Yoshida ripped a pair of homers with a 1.654 OPS for Samurai Japan; and Bello threw a sparkling five innings against Team Israel in his lone outing, allowing one run on one hit with seven strikeouts and no walks in 54 pitches.
So why did he quit?
“I decided to come back because we have a starter for the Dominican Republic (Sunday), which is (Luis) Severino,” Bello told MassLive reporter Sean McAdam on Friday, through an interpreter. “I trust that he’s going to go five or six (innings) and is going to be dominating that game. So I decided it was going to be best for us for me to come back here and throw my five and six innings or my 70 pitches that I need to do. I feel that was the right decision.”
Bello is now slated to start for the Red Sox in their Saturday Grapefruit League game against the Atlanta Braves, at the Braves’ spring training home of CoolToday Park in North Port, Florida.
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Fans who appreciate Bello’s dedication to his preparation for the Red Sox season will be excited that he chose to return to spring training with the team that, according to his contract extension, will pay him $55 million from 2024 through 2029 — and possibly another $21 million if the club exercises its option on Bello for the 2030 campaign.
On the other hand, according to Red Sox writer Katie Manganelli of BoSox Injection, “other fans are disappointed,” believing that Bello could benefit from the experience of pitching in a high-pressure environment.
“Bello has only pitched in one playoff game and he has a history of losing command in big moments,” Manganelli wrote on Friday. “While the risk of injury is higher than a spring training game, the experience from a tournament game could’ve helped Bello in more ways than one.”
Bello added that if the Dominican Republic team advances to the WBC Final on March 17, he planned to return to be with his countrymen, but only as a spectator. He made clear that he has thrown his last WBC pitch, at least for the 2026 competition.
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