March 12, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Fort Report: Sox extend Bello; Mayer makes spring debut
The Sox had a good week on the field, going 4-2, including a pair of wins over the Rays in the Dominican Republic. But that was all secondary news, as Boston locked up a promising young pitcher for the next six years.
Bello signs six-year extension
The biggest news this past week for the Red Sox was the announcement of Brayan Bello's (pictured) contract extension. The deal is for $55 million and includes a seventh-year club option for $21 million. Bello will be a huge piece of Boston's rotation until at least 2029. The right-hander established himself last season, tossing 157 innings in 28 starts with a 4.24 ERA. That ERA ballooned due to an eight-run outing in his penultimate start, but he had a string of 21 starts from the end of April through August in which he had a 3.20 ERA.
Mayer makes spring debut
Marcelo Mayer, our second-ranked prospect, appeared in a major league game for the first time this spring. He came in to play shortstop and in his only at-bat, he roped a double down the left-field line.
Transactions
On Monday, the Sox agreed to terms on one-year contracts with the following players: OF Wilyer Abreu, LHP Brennan Bernardino, RHP Isaiah Campbell, 1B Triston Casas, RHP Kutter Crawford, INF/OF Bobby Dalbec, OF Jarren Duran, INF Romy Gonzalez, RHP Wikelman Gonzalez, INF Vaughn Grissom, INF David Hamilton, RHP Tanner Houck, LHP Joe Jacques, RHP Zack Kelly, RHP Bryan Mata, RHP Wyatt Mills, LHP Chris Murphy, RHP Luis Parales, OF Ceddanne Rafaela, INF Pablo Reyes, RHP Justin Slaten, INF Enmanuel Valdez, LHP Brandon Walter, RHP Greg Weissert, RHP Josh Winckowski, and C Connor Wong.
The club has also released the following players: OF Deundre Jones, RHP Nate Tellier, LHP Jorge Rodriguez, RHP Jordan DiValerio, and RHP Luis De La Rosa.
New podcast episode
Chris and Ian are back with the 307th edition of the SoxProspects.com podcast. They discuss some recent transactions and how the Lucas Giolito injury is going to impact things. They also talk about Ian's article on Boston's draft strategy and how it has affected their ability to develop starting pitching.
Links
Tim Crowley of NESN.com caught up with Baseball America's Geoff Pontes, as well as our very own Ian Cundall, to talk about Chase Meidroth. Pontes talks about his belief that he can play third base, while Cundall dives into his offensive approach and profile. The 22-year-old is currently ranked 14th and is 4 for 17 with a double so far in spring action.
Minor leaguers in major-league games
Each year, we track the players who are not in major-league camp who get pulled over for MLB games. Here is the list, with their current ranking in parentheses, of the 28 minor-leaguers who were featured in games over the last week.
Pitchers: Cam Booser, Chase Shugart, Luis Guerrero (27), Ryan Zeferjahn (54), Jorge Benitez
Position players: Jamie Westbrook, Chase Meidroth (14), Joe Dunand, Nick Yorke (6), Corey Rosier (52), Dalton Guthrie, Mark Contreras, Mark Kolozsvary, Nick Sogard (53), Romy Gonzalez, Nathan Hickey (17), Tyler McDonough (43), Marcelo Mayer (2)
Photo Credit: Brayan Bello by Kelly O'Connor