11:44AM: Whitlock is hoping to pitch normally during Spring Training, he told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other media. His offseason work has thus far extended to bullpen sessions of up to 15 pitches.
11:31AM: Garrett Whitlock will miss the first month or two of the 2025 season as he recovers from an internal brace surgery performed last May, but when the right-hander does return to action, it will be in a bullpen role. Whitlock told reporters (including Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe) today that the Red Sox intend to use him as a reliever in the coming season.
The news isn’t a huge surprise, given both Whitlock’s health status and the fact that the Sox have enough of a pitching surplus that the team is considering using a six-man rotation just to get everyone innings. There is also the fact that Whitlock has been markedly better as a reliever (2.65 ERA in 132 2/3 innings) than as a starter (4.29 ERA in 109 innings) during his big league career.
After being selected away from the Yankees in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, Whitlock burst onto the Major League scene as a reliever when he posted a spectacular 1.96 ERA over 73 1/3 innings during the 2021 season. It was a tremendous breakout for a pitcher who had never even worked at Triple-A before making his MLB debut, and the Red Sox jumped to capitalize on that potential by signing Whitlock to a contract extension will net him at least $18.75MM over the 2023-26 seasons, and might max out as a six-year, $44MM pact based on club options and escalators.
The Red Sox experimented with Whitlock as a starter in 2022, but moved him back to the pen after he missed about a month due to hip inflammation, and Whitlock continued to pitch well in a multi-inning relief role before a season-ending hip surgery in September. Whitlock was again deployed as a starter to begin the 2023 season, but struggled to a 5.23 ERA in 51 2/3 innings over 10 starts before again returned to the relief corps. This time, Whitlock had a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings as a reliever over the remainder of that season, as some elbow problems were the larger story of Whitlock’s 2023 campaign.
Injuries again surfaced in 2024, as Whitlock didn’t pitch again after suffering an oblique strain in mid-April. A month after his IL placement, Whitlock came away from a Triple-A rehab outing with elbow soreness, and ultimately the UCL damage that necessitated his surgery. Ironically, Whitlock had looked very sharp in his first four starts of the 2024 season, as an 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings hinted that he was finally ready to step up as a regular member of Boston’s rotation.
It still seems possible that the Sox might again use Whitlock as a starter in 2026 or beyond, depending on his health, their rotation needs, or if the Red Sox exercise their club options on his services for the 2027 or 2028 seasons. However, it could be that simply keeping Whitlock in a relief role might be the ideal path to keep him off the injured list. As much as Boston might’ve hoped it had found a quality starter at a relative bargain price, having Whitlock as “only” a bullpen weapon for high-leverage innings is a pretty nice silver lining, assuming Whitlock can regain his 2021-22 form.
Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson are the highest-profile new additions to the Boston bullpen this offseason, and the exact nature of the relief mix might not be known for some time. The Red Sox will still need to figure out which five or six arms will comprise their rotation, which excess starters might also be used in the pen, and simply who will be healthy. Aside from Whitlock, Lucas Giolito, Patrick Sandoval, and Michael Fulmer are all returning from long-term injuries.
Without injuries, Whitlock was developing into one of the best relief arms in the game. Sad to see what health can do to a career. Hopefully he can get back to that form in the bullpen these next 2 seasons.
Cheap – Bloom gave him starter money to be a starter. Huge mistake, but maybe the contract can be salvaged with 50 good innings a year. Time will tell.
Are we gonna get a separate article for everything that’s said at FSG Fest today? Lol!!
Since when is a 4 year deal with an AAV of under $5M “starter money”?
Bloom Derangement Syndrome
Whitlock has a pretty team-friendly contract:
2023: $1M
2024: $3.25M (arb 1)
2025: $5.25M (arb 2)
2026: $7.25M (arb 3)
2027: $8.25M team option
2028: $10.5M team option
Ken – He wasn’t signed as a free agent, do some research rather than always depending on me to enlighten you.
Enlighten us all. Where does it say free agent?
Why don’t you start making sense instead of your usual “I’m smarter than everyone else in the industry” nonsense. There’s nothing that’s egregious about the salaries Whitlock is set to make even if he remains in the pen. You just have some pathological need to label every move Bloom made as a major mistake.
Please send him back to NY Yankees
Good. He had great numbers once through a lineup, but teams were hitting him hard 2nd and 3rd time through.
If he was a lefty, I may consider it.
we’d take him in a second
great reliever who just couldn’t make the switch to starter
He is a way better relief pitcher anyway. Keep Whit in the bullpen.
The bullpen is looking good, even without a true closer. There’s a ton of options – Chapman (ugh), Hendricks, Slaten, or even Whitlock.the rest of those guys would be your high leverage arms. There was a handful of other young guys who looked good as well – Guerrero and Penrod.
Now if they could add say a Tanner Scott or Estevas (who I’d prefer) that BP would be a strength going into the season.
Tanner is better! Estevez Will be cheaper
Yeah – I was thinking Estévez (let me spell it right this time) tices a better compliment to Chapman, who is probably the other late inning guy right now. But they couldn’t go wrong with either addition.
The Sox screwed him up by moving him to the rotation. He was great in the pen and instead of leaving well enough alone they had to make him a starter, and that back & forth probably caused his initial injuries. Stupid.
Wonder if Jeff Hoffman will suffer the same fate with the Jays? He wasn’t much of a starter the first time around.
@letitbelowenstein They’re using Hoffman to close.
Yes, can’t afford the same debacle that ruined most of Daniel Bard’s career (late-age brief NL resurgence notwithstanding).
See: Daniel Bard
Took him years to get over the RS screwing with him.
Hoping for the same from Bobby D.
Are these not grown men bard was a fantastic starter at unc it made sense for him to want to try…its not only on the sox for letting him..geez
Bard wanted to be a starter.
so did michael king
some arms can handle starting and some can’t but starters are more valuable so if both sides are willing and there are no obvious medical issues you give it a shot. 20/20 hindsight can make any decision look stupid
Whitlock was pushing to be a starter again the only reason he was in the pen to begin with was due to his rule 5 status and needing to keep him on the 25 man while protecting his arm post tj..so this wasnt all on the sox the player very much had alot of input and desire to be a starter
Exactly. The player has a say in what happens to them.
Relief is the best role for him. He was lights out most of the time as a reliever. The starting staff is decent now, with some depth. Good luck to him, he seems like a great guy. And nothings better than stealing a Yankee !
Finally, payback for the Bambino.
They finally learned their lesson I guess
How do you know this isnt whitlocks choice?
His choice or not, it was a failed experiment but one worth trying if a team rather not sign free agent starters for long-term.
It was the team’s decision to continue running him out there as a starter even after it was proven he belonged in the bullpen
Definitely tougher for players to perform in Major markets. Takes player’s with thick skin to play in AL or NL East. Not all players can handle the extra stress of a New York or Boston. Day and night when comparing Boston and Colorado environments.
Good idea.
The BoSox are looking good for 2025.
Finally, some sense being used
This pitching staff will be nasty
Some of these MLB Gms are morons. There is no reason to turn someone who is a great reliever into a starter. I’d understand if that reliever had success in the past as a starter and their relief stats were mediocre (Lugo, Reynaldo Lopez) but it doesnt make sense to me to turn quality relievers into starters like Jordan Hicks or what they were thinking of doing with Mason Miller. If Mariano Rivera was flip flopped around like this, he never would of made the hall of fame, the only unanimous player ever
It’s so great that every player’s failure is completely the fault of the manager, the general manager, the pitching coach, the agent, the stadium, the team’s defense, the pitch calling, the catcher, the scouting, Manfred, the union, the announcers, the ground crew, the dirt on the pitcher’s mound, the seams on the baseballs, the materials the pitchers are allowed or not allowed to use, the baseball itself, sign stealing, the inability to hold runners on base, spin rate, velocity, facial hair, and probably countless more factors that I can’t think of off the top of my head.