Garrett Whitlock is poised to rejoin the Boston Red Sox bullpen Saturday, expected to be activated for at least one game of the team’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees.
Boston is chasing New York for the top American League wild-card spot, and Whitlock’s return slots one of the game’s most reliable setup men back into a bullpen that’s carried the club through a series of absences.
Interim manager Chad Tracy said the club will “likely” activate Whitlock for Saturday’s twin bill, according to Boston Globe reporter Tim Healey. The Red Sox skipped a Friday activation to give Whitlock two full days of rest after he faced live hitters Wednesday in Miami, striking out his teammates Eli White and Caleb Durbin.
“You don’t want to go too many days without having someone try and swing off you,” Whitlock said. “Knock the rust off. Make sure everything’s moving the way it’s supposed to,” as quoted by MLB.com.
“He looked good. He felt good. So that’s a good outcome,” Tracy said pregame Wednesday, according to MLB.com.
Garrett Whitlock’s Injury History
The Red Sox placed him on the 15-day injured list Aug. 13, retroactive to Aug. 10, with right elbow inflammation, recalling reliever Greg Weissert from Triple-A Worcester to fill the vacancy. Whitlock downplayed the issue as simply inflammation rather than structural damage to the elbow.
But injuries are a familiar occurrence for the 30-year-old righty, who has battled a steady stream of health issues since Boston acquired him. He underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2019 while in the Yankees’ farm system, a procedure that combined with the canceled 2020 minor-league season to wipe out nearly two years of his minor league development.
Right hip inflammation sidelined him for over a month in 2022, then a hip impingement ended that season in September. Elbow ulnar neuritis cost him time in 2023. His most serious setback came in 2024, when a rehab start for a left oblique strain led to elbow damage that required season-ending surgery. He also missed time this past May with left knee inflammation.
How Red Sox Landed Whitlock From Yankees
Boston selected Whitlock in the 2020 Rule 5 draft, gambling on a pitcher the Yankees left unprotected after Tommy John surgery and the lost pandemic season kept him off the 40-man roster.
“We’re really excited to land someone that we think has upside as a potential starter, or at a minimum can assume some volume either out of the ‘pen or as a starter,” said Red Sox vice president of professional scouting Gus Quattlebaum, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.
Under Rule 5 regulations, Boston had to keep Whitlock active all of 2021 or offer him back to the Yankees. He made the Opening Day roster, debuted that April and posted a 1.96 ERA over 73 1/3 innings as a rookie, a breakout the Red Sox rewarded a year later with a four-year, $18.75 million extension covering 2023 through 2026.
Before landing on the injured list this month, Whitlock was working through his best season yet as Boston’s primary setup man in front of closer Aroldis Chapman, going 6-1 with a 2.05 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and 49 strikeouts across 44 innings, with 21 holds and a .203 opponent batting average. Against New York he boasts a 1.67 ERA and .165 opponent average across 24 career appearances.
Red Sox Announce Good News on Garrett Whitlock Before Yankees Series