Bello (shoulder) to start season on IL; Devers' ST debut pushed to Saturday

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Though Red Sox starting pitcher Brayan Bello is trending in the right direction after a bout of right shoulder inflammation at the start of Spring Training, he won¡¯t be ready for the start of the regular season, manager Alex Cora announced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Grapefruit League debut of star slugger Rafael Devers has again been pushed back, this time from Wednesday to Saturday. The Red Sox still expect Devers will be ready for Opening Day, as he has been taking live batting practice for more than a week.

With Bello out of the early-season mix, Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester and Cooper Criswell are all on the mix to break camp as the fifth starter. Originally, the Sox had contemplated a six-man rotation for early in the season given their lack of days off, but those plans were scrapped given that Bello and Kutter Crawford (right knee) will both start the season on the injured list.

¡°We talked to Brayan,¡± said Cora. ¡°He's behind. So he's not going to be with us for the Opening Day. Just doesn't make sense to push him and rush everything and then something major happens. So he's throwing a live BP tomorrow. He's going to be part of it. But he's behind, so we'll take care of him.¡±

The Red Sox still feel good about a rotation that will include a front four of Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito, who will pitch the fifth game of the season, Cora said on Tuesday.

There¡¯s a chance Bello will only miss one or two turns through the rotation. He will likely pitch up to four innings in the Opening Series at Triple-A Worcester.

As for Devers, he has spent the past couple of weeks trying to iron out his swing and make some mechanical adjustments after two sore shoulders forced him into some bad habits the last couple of months of the ¡®24 season.

Originally, the Red Sox said Devers would make his Grapefruit League debut on March 5. Then it was pushed back to Wednesday. And now it will be Saturday.

¡°Crochet and Buehler, he¡¯s going to face those guys [in live BP],¡± Cora said.

Cora provided some specifics on what Devers is working on.

¡°He¡¯s been on point as far as what he needs, as far as the swing. The whole path and the inside pitch is something that he lost last year because of the shoulders,¡± Cora said. ¡°And he's been working very hard on that path. It¡¯s not a different swing, just, a different path to be honest with you. It¡¯s been trending in the right direction. He's been off a little bit.

¡°Last week, he felt like he wasn't getting to pitches and all that. I get the whole thing in the big field. But two at-bats against big leaguers, he¡¯s actually getting more bats in the backfield. He's getting there. But I think the whole progress from when he got here in January to where he's at now, he feels a lot comfortable on the inside pitch. You see it in the way he's driving the ball to left-center, which is is something that he missed [late last year].¡±

The Red Sox still haven¡¯t said if Devers will start the season at third base or designated hitter. All signs point to the latter. Alex Bregman, the prized free-agent acquisition, has only played third base in Grapefruit League action and has spent most of his time working out his natural position at the hot corner.

Asked when Bregman might play second base in camp, Cora said, ¡°At one point.¡±