Bello, Sale progressing, top pitching prospects shine
Hurlers getting work
After their visit to the Braves in North Port ended in a chaotic clock-off on Saturday, the Red Sox played their Grapefruit League home opener against the Rays on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Brayan Bello threw off a mound for the first time since being shut down for a few days the weekend before due to forearm soreness.
“I felt really good today,” Bello told reporters after his outing, “I feel good. I’m pushing myself to be ready for Opening Day. I feel good right now, so I’m gonna push hard to work really hard to be ready for it.”
Bello debuted on July 6 last season, and made 13 appearances, including 11 starts. His 4.71 ERA disguises how much he improved down the stretch. After striking out 24, walking 15, and allowing 21 earned runs (7.27 ERA) over his first seven games (26 innings), he struck out 31, issued 12 walks, and only allowed nine earned runs in his remaining six games (31 1/3 innings) of the season.
During the offseason, Bello worked out with Pedro Martinez at the Hall of Famer’s home in their native Dominican Republic.
“I saw a young kid with a really high ceiling,” Martinez told the Herald. “I wish, I wish I had the talent that Brayan Bello has when I was coming up to the big leagues.”
“He’s way more talented than I am,” the Red Sox legend said. “All he needed was to build confidence, to understand what he needed to do to execute. I just hope that he can put it together by adding all the things that we’re supplying right now.”
Hometown kid gets the ball
Josh Winckowski made his first start of the spring on Sunday, allowing just one hit, one walk, and striking out three batters in two innings.
Chatting with NESN’s Tom Caron later in the game, Winckowski discussed an impressive new slider, telling Caron he worked on “a whole new grip” this offseason, and feels really good about his progress, in general.
Winckowski debuted May 28 of last season, and made 15 appearances, 14 of them starts, for a total of 70 1/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs or less and went five or more innings in 10 of his games, but got knocked around badly in a few outings. He does well at inducing weak contact, though, with a 52.3% ground-ball rate that’s almost 10% higher than league average.
Fort Myers was home to the 24-year-old righty long before the Red Sox acquired him from the Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade. An Ohio native, Winckowski moved to Lee County, which contains Fort Myers and Cape Coral, for high school, and played baseball at nearby Estero
High School before being selected by the Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2016 draft.
Top pitching prospects shine
A succession of top pitching prospects entered after Winckowski’s two innings: Chris Murphy (No. 11), Bryan Mata (No. 6), and Brandon Walter (No. 7) pitched the third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
They combined for three hitless innings.
All three are likely to start the season in Triple-A, but each could get a chance to make their big-league debuts this season.
Rio Gomez fans three in second game
Rio Gomez struck out three and gave up a solo home run on Sunday, his second appearance of the spring.
The 28-year-old lefty is the son of beloved journalist Pedro Gomez, who passed away suddenly in February 2021.
The younger Gomez is a solid strikeout pitcher; he fanned 41 batters in 33 innings last season, which he spent with Double-A Portland. Across 24 appearances, including two starts and 11 games finished, he posted a 6.55 ERA and 1.667 WHIP.
Big step for Sale
Chris Sale faced live hitters on Saturday for the first time since the unfortunate line-drive comebacker incident at Yankee Stadium last July.
His family was on hand as he threw an inning, and his three sons greeted him with a group hug when he walked off the mound.
Sale will throw a two-inning live BP this week, and if all goes well, the next step would be his first appearance in a spring training game.
Quick hits
Matthew Lugo, the organization’s No. 12 prospect, was Sunday’s hero at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a bases-clearing double and RBI triple to tie the game back up for Ryan Fitzgerald to walk it off.
The Padres are reportedly giving Manny Machado an 11-year, $350 million extension. The Red Sox got 26-year-old Rafael Devers for tens of millions and a year less.
Kenley Jansen is ready to be a mentor for fellow Curaçao native Ceddanne Rafaela. “I’m gonna make sure that anything that he needs, I’m here for him,” the veteran pitcher told the Boston Globe, “…anything that I can do to help him be better, not just on the field, but off the field, I’m here for him. I’m gonna make sure I’ll be his big brother.”