Garrett Whitlock has been sensational out of the Boston Red Sox's bullpen in the last two seasons, but he is open to making a return to the starting rotation.
“I definitely know my body better and know everything better now, and so it’s definitely something I’d be open to. Will I?” Whitlock said, per The Boston Globe's Tim Healey. “I’m not going to walk into (chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s) office and be like, ‘Hey, I’m starting.’ So it’s one of those things where the team would have to be on board with it and just talk through everything and go through it. But it’s something I’d always be open to.”
Whitlock has a 1.81 ERA this season, pitching in 51 games. Last season, he made 62 appearances and had a 2.25 ERA. Before last season, he spent time as a starter in the previous three seasons. In 2024, he suffered an elbow injury and underwent a bracing procedure to repair the UCL in his right elbow.
In 2024, he made four starts, posting a 1.96 ERA. He has thrived as a reliever, and the Red Sox may have no interest in moving him to the rotation, especially given the talent they have in the rotation moving forward.
Sonny Gray's future is up in the air, but Payton Tolle, Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suárez and Jake Bennett seem to be locked in for the foreseeable future. The team has other options to start games as well, but they don't have another arm like Whitlock's to deploy to set up Aroldis Chapman.
“I doubt Boston will do it. We’re pretty good on starting depth,” Whitlock said. “If I become a free agent and a team approaches me about it, I’m open to it and see how it goes.”