Boston Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock landed on the injured list Thursday with right elbow inflammation, ending days of uncertainty over an issue that largely sidelined the setup man during a five-game skid.
The move confirms what interim manager Chad Tracy hinted at a day earlier, and it leaves Boston’s bullpen thinner right as the team searches for a way out of its worst losing skid since the first week of the season.
Whitlock sat out Wednesday’s loss in Toronto, and he addressed the injury afterward, describing it as coming on over time rather than the result of a single incident.
“Been throwing a lot and warmed up a lot, which has been a big thing. Tightened up on me after warming up Tuesday night,” Whitlock said, as quoted by The Boston Globe. “Not as much on-and-off. It’s been building. I would say that’s probably the better word.”
Garrett Whitlock Explains Elbow Discomfort
GettyBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Garrett Whitlock #22 of the Boston Red Sox is now on the injured list.
The workload caught up with him. Whitlock pitched in 13 games across a 27-day span in July, a stretch that included the All-Star break, and Tracy has described him in recent weeks as beat up from the usage. Whitlock downplayed the chance of any long-term damage.
“I don’t think there’s anything structurally wrong with it,” he said, according to the Globe. “My concern for need of any drastic measures is very low.”
He had not undergone an MRI as of Thursday morning and said Wednesday he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Whitlock’s elbow has a complicated history. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 while still in the Yankees organization, missing the remainder of that season and all of the following one. Boston selected him in that December’s Rule 5 draft, and he later dealt with hip inflammation requiring arthroscopic surgery in 2022 and elbow ulnar neuritis in 2023 before an internal brace procedure in May 2024 ended that season early.
He also spent time on the injured list this past May and June with left knee inflammation, returning June 9 with a 2.60 ERA before Wednesday’s setback.
Red Sox Bullpen Stretched Thin Amid Losing Skid
Whitlock’s absence hits at the worst possible moment. Boston has dropped five straight games after a scorching stretch that included two winning streaks of 15 and nine games. The bullpen broke down completely Wednesday when Tyron Guerrero allowed five runs without recording an out in the eighth inning of Boston’s 6-4 defeat. The eighth inning has normally been reserved for Whitlock in close games.
Before landing on the injured list, Whitlock had been one of MLB’s more dependable setup arms. With a 6-1 record, 2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 49 strikeouts against just seven walks across roughly 44 innings, his numbers place him just behind closer Aroldis Chapman in Boston’s bullpen hierarchy. His last appearance came Sunday against the Athletics, when he allowed the tying run, snapping a stretch of just one earned run allowed across his previous 20 outings.
To fill the roster spot, Boston recalled veteran reliever Greg Weissert from Triple-A Worcester, adding bullpen depth while Whitlock begins his minimum 15-day stay. The Red Sox, at 64-56, still hold a playoff position, but the offense has cooled along with the pitching staff, batting just .119 with runners in scoring position over the losing streak after hitting .360 in that situation during the nine-game win streak that preceded it.
With Whitlock sidelined and Chapman also shaky in back-to-back outings, Tracy’s relief corps faces its most worrying test of the summer heading toward September.
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