OAKLAND – Boston right-hander Brayan Bello isn’t close to arbitration eligibility, yet his impressive pitching has the Red Sox already thinking about offering the second-year player a contract extension.
Bello is 7-5 with a 3.14 ERA this season, and he has been even more impressive lately, going 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA in his past six starts. He is scheduled to pitch this afternoon in Oakland in the rubber game of a three-game set against the Athletics.
Opposing Bello will be Oakland left-hander Ken Waldichuk (2-6, 6.66 ERA).
With the exception of a three-batter hiccup by opener Joe Jacques on Tuesday, the Red Sox have pitched brilliantly in the first two games against the A’s, winning 7-0 on Monday before falling 3-0 in the rematch.
Bello is 2-0 in July, having beaten the visiting Texas Rangers before the All-Star break and then the host Chicago Cubs in his first start back.
The 24-year-old has been so impressive of late, Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero acknowledged this week that the club would consider locking up Bello for years to come.
“It’s all case by case. There’s no guidebook for it,” Romero said. “But I think Brayan is a special case, and we’ll make efforts to talk to him and his group. He’s basically done what he needs to do and what we would want of a young starting pitcher in this organization.