Boston Red Sox
“How could he not win this thing?”
Brayan Bello posted a 10.35 ERA in eight starts before getting sent down to Worcester. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
July 11, 2026 | 1:39 PM
2 minutes to read
The Boston Red Sox have four 2026 All-Stars heading into the break (as of Saturday afternoon) as the team rides a seven-game win streak and tries for a third consecutive series sweep this weekend.
Things have been going much better for the club compared to the first two-plus months. Their pitching continues to dominate, but their lineup has been consistently hitting from top to bottom. This has — unsurprisingly — led to 12 wins in their last 14 games, and put them 1.5 games back of the American League’s final wild-card spot.
While many players have massively improved their on-field performance lately, one pitcher’s dismal stats earned them a not-so-positive accolade from The Athletic.
The outlet’s Jayson Stark revealed his midseason award winners ahead of MLB’s All-Star break. Names like Yordan Alvarez and Cam Schlittler headlined Stark’s AL MVP and AL Cy Young accolades through the first half, but Brayan Bello found himself next to the AL “Cy Yuk” winner category.
Bello, who was demoted to Triple-A a little over a month ago, put up some of the worst numbers a hurler can in his eight starts for Boston.
In those starts (not counting his four bulk-relief outings), he posted a staggering 10.35 ERA, allowing 41 earned runs over 35.2 innings. Batters slashed .365/.435/.623 and hit 10 home runs against him.
Bello’s walks per nine were almost identical to his strikeouts per nine: 5.3 BB/9 and 5.6 K/9. He also owned a whopping 2.21 WHIP.
“How could he not win this thing?” Stark wrote of Bello’s “Cy Yuk” “achievement.” “Among pitchers who have been out there as much as him this since (61 innings), Bello ranks last in bWAR, ERA, expected ERA, WHIP, opponent batting average, lowest rate of soft contact and a dozen more categories you don’t need to hear at this point.
“You do need to know that I never look forward to hanging a Cy Yuk medal around anybody’s neck. But sometimes these guys make me do it. So I’m sorry, Brayan. You were That Guy.”
Stark noted Bello’s shockingly bad first-inning stats in his assessment. Including his eight starts and four bullpen appearances, his ERA in the first frame is 16.88.
Despite Bello’s horrendous starter stats, he was more than serviceable out of the bullpen, which is why the Red Sox kept him in the majors for so long. He sported a 0.71 ERA and struck out 22 batters to just three walks in his 25.1 relief innings. That’s good for a 7.8 K/9 and a measly 1.1 BB/9.
Bello posted a sub-1 WHIP out of the ‘pen (0.91) with batters hitting .215 off of him, as well.
Boston decided to send him to Triple-A despite his four phenomenal relief appearances, and Triple-A is where he remains. The Red Sox could have opted to call him up to start on Saturday in place of the injured Ranger Suarez, but they reportedly chose to recall Eduardo Rivera instead, according to insider Hector Gomez.
Bello isn’t the first Red Sox pitcher to be named the first-half “Cy Yuk” winner. Stark named Walker Buehler the A.L. honoree in 2025 for his similarly poor performance.
Kaley Brown
Kaley Brown is a sports producer for Boston.com, where she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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