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.¡±