Fort Myers, Florida: The Boston Red Sox and young right-hander Brayan Bello reached a six-year, $55 million agreement on Thursday.
Bello’s contract has a $21 million team option for 2030 with a $1 million buyout, making the deal potentially $75 million over seven seasons if it is exercised.
Bello, who was signed by the Red Sox in 2017 for $28,000 out of the Dominican Republic, will turn 25 in May.
After the 2025 season, he would have been qualified for arbitration, and after the 2028 season, he would have been free to sign elsewhere. With the long-term contract in place, he made $729,500 last season and probably would have made approximately $750,000 this one as well.
Bello, whose four-seam fastball averaged 95.5 mph last season, was 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA in 28 starts for the last-place Red Sox. In 2022, he pitched with a fastball velocity of 97.7 mph and finished 2-8 with a 4.71 ERA in 11 starts and 2 relief appearances.
Alongside Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Garrett Whitlock in the anticipated rotation is him.
Although Lucas Giolito, a 29-year-old right-hander, signed a $38.5 million, two-year contract with Boston as a free agency, it seems expected that he will require Tommy John surgery once more.
