Dear John Henry, Bello Doesn’t Need Any Opener. He Needs the Right One.

Dear John Henry, Bello Doesn’t Need Any Opener. He Needs the Right One.

Dear John Henry,

As a Red Sox fan, I am asking you to look closely at what is happening with this roster, because the problem feels bigger than one bad inning, one bad lineup, or one bullpen decision.

The front office keeps asking players to solve roster problems by moving outside of the roles where they are most comfortable and most valuable.

We have seen it with the position players with Ceddanne Rafaela and Marcelo Mayer.

Now it feels like the same role confusion is reaching the pitching staff.

That is why the Brayan Bello opener decision matters.

If the Red Sox believe Bello needs an opener, then the answer should not be “whichever lefty reliever is available.” The opener is not a random assignment. It is part of Bello’s success plan.

And as a fan, I can see that Eduardo Rivera would have been the better answer.

Morán or Samaniego as openers did not work. That game told us two things at the same time:

The opener concept may actually help Bello.

But the opener choice was wrong.

Bello does not need just any lefty. He needs the right opener.

The opener’s job is to give Bello a clean runway into the game. He needs to handle the top of the order, throw strikes, avoid traffic, and change the visual before Bello enters. He needs to be comfortable starting a game.

Rivera fits that assignment better than Tyler Samaniego or Jovani Morán.

Rivera is not just a lefty reliever being asked to fake-start a game. He is a starter-type arm. He has length. He has size. He gives hitters a completely different look before Bello comes in.

Rivera could have been called up for this start. He could have been given a defined role. Instead, the Red Sox forced another reliever into a role that did not fit, and Bello had to spend seven brilliant innings trying clean up the damage.

That is backwards.

If the Red Sox are going to carry an opener for Bello, that pitcher needs a real usage plan. Rivera gives them that.

Here is how I would use him.

In a five-day cycle

Day 1 Open for Bello, 1 inning

Day 2 Rest

Day 3 Available for one relief inning if needed

Day 4 Rest

Day 5 Open for Bello again

In a five-day cycle, Rivera’s role is simple:

Open for Bello, possibly give one middle-cycle relief appearance, then be protected the day before Bello pitches again.

In a six-day cycle

Day 1 Open for Bello, 1 inning

Day 2 Rest

Day 3 Alt relief day

Day 4 Best day for one relief appearance

Day 5 Rest

Day 6 Open for Bello again

In a six-day cycle, Rivera becomes even more useful. He can open for Bello and still give the bullpen one appearance between Bello starts without compromising the plan.

That makes his roster spot make sense.

His role would be clear:

Primary role: open for Bello.

Secondary role: one relief appearance between Bello starts.

Emergency role: cover multiple innings if a starter exits early.

That is not chaos. That is structure.

And structure is what this team is missing.

The Red Sox keep talking about flexibility, but flexibility without structure becomes confusion. It becomes position players moved around instead of settled. It becomes relievers asked to start games they are not built to start. It becomes Bello needing an opener, but getting the wrong one.

At some point, the question has to be asked:

Are the Red Sox putting players in the best position to succeed?

Because right now, it does not look like it.

Rivera opening for Bello would not be a gimmick. It would be the opposite. It would be a structured, logical use of a pitcher whose profile actually fits the assignment.

If Bello pitches better when he does not have to carry the emotional and tactical weight of the first inning, then help him. But help him properly.

Do not just pick a lefty.

Pick the lefty who gives him the best chance to succeed.

That pitcher is Eduardo Rivera.

Sincerely,

A Red Sox fan who can see the role confusion from here.