The Red Sox will officially start the season down two starting pitchers, the club announced Tuesday.
Right-hander Brayan Bello will not be ready by Opening Day, manager Alex Cora confirmed. Bello has not experienced any setbacks but is still behind in his progression and will need more time to catch up.
“He’s behind, so he’s not going to be with us for Opening Day. Just doesn’t make sense with where he’s at to push him, like rush everything and then something major happens. He’s throwing a live BP tomorrow, he’s going to be part of it but he’s behind, so we’ll take care of that.”
Bello initially suffered shoulder soreness early in camp that resulted in him being briefly shut down. The 25-year-old has been back on the mound for several weeks since, but the delay set him back far enough that the club believes it’ll be best to give him at least a couple of extra weeks to ramp up.
Cora said the plan is for Bello to pitch in at least one spring training game towards the end of camp, and he will most likely also throw four innings during the Worcester Red Sox’s opening series.
Bello was Boston’s Opening Day starter last season, and while he got off to a difficult start, the young right-hander settled down as the season went along and finished the season with a 14-8 record, 4.49 ERA and 153 strikeouts over a career-high 30 starts and 162.1 innings.
Cora also provided a number of other injury updates.
Wilyer Abreu, who has still yet to play in a Grapefruit League game due to a viral gastrointestinal illness, underwent another round of labs on Monday. Cora said they hope this will be the last checkpoint before he’s able to get back on the field, but that they’re “playing against the time now” as far as getting him ready for Opening Day.
Kutter Crawford (right patella soreness) is feeling better but has not made meaningful progress in his progression. He has already been ruled out for Opening Day and will likely need more time than Bello to return to the rotation.
Justin Slaten (illness) was back in the Red Sox clubhouse on Tuesday after battling the same illness that sidelined Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas and others.
Masataka Yoshida (shoulder surgery) is throwing up to 60 feet, and while he’s been cleared to hit in games and has been starting at designated hitter, Cora does not expect he’ll be ready to play outfield by Opening Day. Cora said whether or not Yoshida starts the season on the IL will depend on how the rest of the roster shakes out.
Lucas Giolito has been lined up to pitch Boston’s fifth game of the season, the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles on March 31. Cora would not confirm who will be the club’s Opening Day starter or how the rest of the rotation will line up for the first series in Texas.