Red Sox Send Scuffling Starter to Triple-A

Bello's struggles this season have been inexplicable. After a poor start to the season, the Red Sox attempted to soften the load for their right-hander by starting an opener ahead of him. While Bello has been fantastic in this bulk role, posting a 0.71 ERA as a reliever, the openers were not finding success, and they were still unable to come up with wins when it was his turn in the rotation.

Twice over the last three weeks the Red Sox have attempted to return Bello to his starting role. In these two outings, he surrendered a combined 15 hits and 15 earned runs, failing to make it beyond five innings in both outings.

Despite his stellar work out of the bullpen, Bello's shocking 10.35 ERA as a starter ballooned his season ERA up to 6.34, which is the worst among 72 qualified starting pitchers in MLB. Bello spoke about his role after the game on Thursday, explaining through a translator that he considers himself a starter and big leaguer, and would prefer to work through his struggles as such.

“Just stop talking about bullpen and starting games, I’ve always been a starter," Bello said, via Christopher Smith of MassLive. "And when I’ve been successful as a starter, nobody has questioned whether I have to be in the bullpen or starting games. So, starting from there, just stop that talk because I’m just having a bad season. That’s it. It’s not whether I’m a starter or I’m a reliever. I’m just having a bad season. But I know I can turn it around. I always have. And I think I will.”

When asked specifically if he would consider a stint in the minors, Bello said that he was "not thinking about that."

"I'm thinking about making my adjustments in the big leagues. I have a big league contract. That doesn't mean that the bosses will not take that into consideration, but I'm a big leaguer. I'm a big league starting pitcher, and I'll make my adjustments here," Bello said, via Ian Browne of MLB.com.

It's clear that Bello, who still has his stuff and has pitched to an elite level when the conditions are right, is facing some sort of mental hurdle that has affected his performance in the first inning of games.

His postgame comments, along with some of the poor body language displayed in Thursday's game when he attempted to wave off his catcher Carlos Narvaez in the middle of his two-out meltdown in the first, make it clear that a demotion to Triple-A is just as much about getting his head right as it is making physical adjustments.

The Red Sox traded for lefty reliever Joe La Sorsa on Thursday, who is likely to fill Bello's spot on the roster for this weekend's series at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees . It's unclear what the club plans to do with his spot in the rotation until Garrett Crochet is healthy enough to return. Left-hander Jake Bennett has made a strong case to come back up, pitching to a 2.45 ERA in four starts since returning to Triple-A.