Whitlock remains 'Boston Strong' despite harsh reality of injury

BOSTON -- Red Sox right-hander Garrett Whitlock, who has accepted the reality that he won’t throw another pitch in 2024, has vowed to be “Boston Strong” during his recovery from what he hopes will be an internal bracing procedure to repair the UCL in his right elbow.

The alternative would be Tommy John UCL reconstruction surgery, a procedure Whitlock had five years ago and hopes to avoid this time.

“I think the mentality where I'm at is that I feel like I'm able to connect to a lot of Boston fans,” Whitlock said before the Red Sox's 6-3 loss to the Brewers on Saturday. “Boston is a city built on resilience. It's a city built on determination and hard work. I feel like I'm really starting to connect with them personally.”

Whitlock’s appointment with Dr. Jeff Dugas is set for Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. Whitlock underwent Tommy John surgery from the same doctor.

“I have a really good relationship with Dr. Dugas,” said Whitlock. “As of right now, the internal brace is what he's looking for. Obviously, everything can change, but that's kind of the thing right now. But yeah, that's what we're looking at.”

While many pitchers would be dwelling on their misfortune, Whitlock –--who dealt with the tragic death of his brother Gavrie last summer -- is able to find comfort in perspective.

“There’s a reason I’m wearing this shirt [that says] ‘Ain't found a way to kill me yet.’ It's one of those things where just because I'm dealt another blow, it's all about how you get back up,” said Whitlock. “How you fight. And that's how I'm viewing this and that’s how I’m attacking this. “

Whitlock made four starts this season for the Red Sox, going 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 17 with a left oblique strain. In a Minor League rehab start for Triple-A Worcester on May 15, Whitlock felt great and expected to be activated five days later. But the day after the rehab start, his elbow flared up.

“My arm looked like a fricking balloon,” Whitlock said. “I was like, ‘What the heck happened here?’ It's one of those things where it's a fluke thing that happened and just another thing I’m dealing with. This is something that I’m gonna come from and I'm gonna be better, I'm gonna be stronger and it's one of those things where my job now is to be the best teammate I can be to all these guys.”

Whitlock also vowed to redouble his already impressive efforts in the community.

“Also, be the best I can be impacting people off the field,” said Whitlock. “Just dig even more into my Jimmy Fund work here. Dig even more into helping the communities around Boston. That’s what I can do right now and just really attack rehab in the best way I can.”

For Whitlock, the biggest silver lining in his situation is that his wife Jordan is scheduled to deliver the couple’s first child -- a son -- in early July, and he will now be fully present for the first few months of fatherhood.

“Yeah, that was the thing that me and my wife talked about is that sometimes with this [baseball] life, there's no certainty that [I] won’t miss the actual birth, and now I know that I'm gonna be able to be there to hold my son in my arms,” Whitlock said. “As every parent here knows, there’s nothing else that can replicate that feeling or that can take away from that.”

Having already been through Tommy John surgery once, Whitlock is confident he can make a significant contribution in ‘25 if he undergoes the expected bracing procedure.

Fellow Red Sox righty Lucas Giolito is currently going through recovery from the internal brace procedure.

“So I've talked to Gio, and there's a lot of people nowadays who have had TJ and then the internal brace,” Whitlock said. “I’ve reached out to a couple people. That’s the thing is, it's not a career ender, it’s not anything like that. The rehab from this is a ton easier than Tommy John, so it's one of those things where you just keep going forward.”

And for Whitlock, that is made easier by looking around the city he works in.

"I’m gonna be that guy for each one of my teammates and for the people of Boston. People in Boston go through way harder things and they fight and they’re resilient. It's like, 'Hey, why can't I do that too?'”