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Brayan Bello #66 of the Boston Red Sox
The fact that, entering the Boston Red Sox‘s 2026 season, righty Brayan Bello figures to slot in as the No. 4 starter says a lot more about the improvements made to the depth and quality of the starting rotation than it does about Bello. It was only two years ago that Bello was the ace and Opening Day starter, but now, it appears, he will be behind Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray in the starting bunch.
Of course, when the rest of the available arms are factored in–Johan Oviedo and a pretty good quintet of mostly young starters with the rehabbing Patrick Sandoval–the Red Sox have the best pitching depth in the American League. The MLB axiom is that you can never have too much pitching, but the Red Sox, at least, have more than enough on the roster.
With a gaping hole in the infield, the Red Sox are exploring the option of using some of that pitching to bring in either a second baseman or a third baseman, and Bello is a proven starter would be an attractive trade piece for other teams.
Brayan Bello ‘Surfaced in Trade Talks’
To that end, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic writes that the Red Sox have had talks about trading Bello, talks that the site first reported in December but which are apparently ongoing. McCaffrey said Boston is also talking about trades of reliever Jordan Hicks and Sandoval, but those ought to fall into very different buckets in terms of what the Red Sox could get in return.
She writes: “Bello and Sandoval are among the starters who’ve surfaced in trade talks, according to a league source, while reliever Jordan Hicks has also been discussed.”
Despite his slight size (6-foot-1, 195 pounds), Bello has been Boston’s most reliable starter over the past three years, going 28 starts in 2023, 30 in 2024 and 28 in 2025, his best year in the big leagues (11-9, 3.35 ERA). He’s signed to a reasonable contract, in Year 3 of a six-year, $55 million deal, and that would make him a popular target for teams still struggling to solidify their rotations.
Red Sox Weighing Salary-Relief Trades
One of the problems with trading Bello is that the Red Sox have not found a player on the trade market who would match up, value-wise, with what Bello brings. That could change, especially once teams get hit by injuries, but the Red Sox would prefer to make a trade before spring training begins.
The possibility of trading Sandoval or Hicks is different. Those would lean more toward salary dumps than toward ways of addressing needs. Sandoval could have value once he gets on the mound this spring, as expected, but he has not pitched since June of 2024 after having had UCL surgery. The Red Sox would like to move his $9.1 million salary elsewhere.
Hicks was a disaster after coming to Boston in the Rafael Devers trade, posting an 8.20 ERA in 21 games. He is a hard thrower whose talent has now enticed four teams to take a chance on him, but he has not been able to put together consistency in eight years.
While Boston could get a plug-and-play asset for Bello, and maybe a prospect and salary relief for Sandoval, the Red Sox would likely need to eat some salary and/or include a prospect to off-load Hicks.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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