Whitlock believes move to 'pen will help him stay healthy

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When healthy, Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock has been a quality starter during his four years with the club. In fact, he had a 1.96 ERA in four starts last year before an elbow injury ended his season on April 16th.

While recovering from internal brace surgery in his right elbow, Whitlock made a decision that could change the course of his baseball career: He had a talk with manager Alex Cora at Fenway Park last September and said he wanted to become a full-time reliever.

Cora’s reaction? The skipper loved the idea and heard the conviction in Whitlock’s voice about making the transition to the bullpen.

“I was telling him our bullpen needed some help. It was one of those things where I felt like I could help [next year],” Whitlock said. “I really enjoyed that role. When I told him, I was like, ‘Hey, put me down there and let me be your guy.’ He kind of smiled and said, ‘OK, kid. Let’s do it.’”

After two surgeries on his elbow, including a Tommy John procedure in 2019 while in the Yankees organization, Whitlock figured he could stay healthier out of the bullpen. There wasn’t a doctor or anything analytical that indicated he would be better off as a reliever. To Whitlock, it was simply an educated guess. In fact, history indicated to him that he has bounced back a lot quicker and stayed healthy whenever he has pitched out of the bullpen.

Whitlock has plenty of experience out of the bullpen, appearing in 80 games and pitching to a 2.65 ERA with nine saves and 150 strikeouts in 132 2/3 innings. Whitlock is expected to give Boston multiple innings when he is on the mound.

“It was one of those things where I said [to Cora], ‘Let me be a guy for you [out of the bullpen].’” Whitlock remembered. “I felt like, health-wise, I could stay healthy down there, and I want to make sure I got a full year of health. That was kind of the big thing.”

Having recovered from his elbow problems, Whitlock pitched in his first game of the spring on Friday afternoon, allowing an unearned run on one hit during a 20-5 victory over the Marlins. His fielding error to start the fourth inning caused the unearned run, but Whitlock retired three of the next four hitters before calling it a day.

“It’s been a long road back. Again, I’m just happy to lace [my cleats] up and go out there and play a game,” Whitlock said. “I felt good. I felt my fastball had some life to it. The changeup was really good. I only threw it twice. The slider was hit and miss. I got a lot of weak contact.”

This past offseason, Whitlock went to mentors Adam Warren and Todd Jones -- both one-time relievers in the big leagues -- and asked what he could do to be better out of the ‘pen. Jones advised a mental approach to the game: Believe in yourself and execute your pitches. Warren told Whitlock to be versatile -- be willing to take the ball at any point of the game.

“It’s kind of the brotherhood of baseball. It’s really special,” Whitlock said about his friendship with Jones and Warren. “They didn’t have any obligation to talk to me or take me in. They did it out of the kindness of their hearts. I feel like we have a friendship for life.”

Whitlock has only one goal for 2025, and it’s a simple one.

“The only stat I want to put up is not to go on the IL for the entire year. I told my wife, [Cora], the trainers and everyone,” Whitlock said. “My goal is to literally pitch a full 162, and if I do that, I have faith in my ability that I will put up good numbers. … I want to make sure it’s a full year of health.”