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Brady's Take: Boston Red Sox Make Right Call Putting Garrett Whitlock in Bullpen

The move will help keep Whitlock healthy, while returning him to a role that he shined in during his breakout 2021 campaign.
Brady Farkas|
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock (22) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in 2024.
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock (22) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium in 2024. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox

Speaking on Saturday, Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock confirmed that he'll be pitching in the bullpen for the Red Sox this season.

That is the right move by the organization, for a bevy of reasons.

First, Whitlock is coming off Tommy John surgery. He's not slated to be healthy in time for Opening Day, but when he returns, a trip to the bullpen, and a smaller workload, will be beneficial to keeping him healthy moving forward.

Whitlock burst onto the scene in 2021, tossing 46 games in relief for Boston as they got to the ALCS. He broke down in 2023, making just 22 appearances (10 starts) and again in 2024 (just four appearances). He's never thrown more than 78.1 innings at the major-league level, so he just seems suited for a lesser workload at this point.

Furthermore, the Red Sox already have five starting pitchers penciled into the rotation. Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Tanner Houck are a solid five, and the team is correct to have Kutter Crawford as the sixth option. Explicitly stating that Whitlock will be in the bullpen adds clarity to the defined roles.

Finally, Whitlock has excelled as a reliever. He had a 1.96 ERA in that 2021 season and was an integral part of the Red Sox advancing to the ALCS. His presence in the 'pen full-time again will help deepen a bullpen group that already has Liam Hendricks, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson, Justin Slaten and Josh Winckowski. A unit, which was a weakness at times in 2024, looks more like a strength in 2025 because of Whitlock.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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