TODAY: Whitlock will undergo an internal brace procedure, he told The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey and other reporters. Details will be confirmed after further testing this coming week. Assuming the surgery goes as planned, Whitlock will miss about 11-12 months of recovery, as opposed to the longer timeline of 13-15 months associated with Tommy John surgery.
MAY 20: Garrett Whitlock He injured his throwing elbow, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced to reporters (including MassLive's Chris Cotillo). The Boston right-hander will be evaluated again tomorrow to see if he can avoid surgery.
This was the result that the team and its fans were afraid of last week. Whitlock reported elbow soreness out of Triple-A Worcester's start on Wednesday. He had been working back from a concussion that had sidelined him since mid-April and was hoping to return to the MLB team in the coming days.
Instead, there seems a good chance that his 2024 season is over. If Whitlock needs surgery, it could threaten his '25 campaign. Whitlock already does the Tommy John procedure in his work. That was back in 2019 when he pitched in the Yankees farm system. Whitlock also had two spells with elbow-related injuries in 2023, which ultimately cost him five weeks between July and August. None of them suffered any muscle damage, but this injury unfortunately seems to be very serious.
The 27-year-old hasn't had a full season as a starter since he was a junior. He was a nice multi-tool relief weapon in his first two MLB campaigns. Boston gave him 10 games last year before being listed on his July roster. Whitlock worked without a bull after returning. The Sox reinstated him to start this year. He allowed just four runs in 18 1/3 innings before suffering an oblique injury.
Cooper Criswell went into rotation after Brian Bello, Nick Pivetta, Cutter Crawford again Tanner Houck. Signed to a $1MM contract last winter after being non-tendered by the Rays, Criswell has played quietly well in his first 29 1/3 frames for the Sox. He has a 2.76 ERA with a solid 23.3% strikeout percentage and a 5.8% systematic walk rate.
Criswell, who will take the ball tomorrow against his old team in Tampa Bay, should hold the roster spot for the foreseeable future. Starting pitching could be an area that first-year baseball general manager Craig Breslow and his staff look to address at the deadline, assuming they hang onto postseason contention. Boston shut out the Rays tonight to get back to .500 at 24-24. Long shots to stick with the Yankees and Orioles at the top of the AL East but firmly in the Wild Card picture.
While Boston's rotation has been a formidable force thus far, the front five has little experience. Pivetta is the only member of the team to have started 30 MLB games in a season. He and Bello are the only ones to surpass the 130-inning mark at the major league level.
That lack of volume is a big reason for Boston's signing Lucas Giolito, who was one of the league's strongest hitters, received a two-year free agent contract. Giolito went down quickly with a slightly torn UCL in spring training. He had an internal board evaluation and will miss the rest of the season.
Even if Whitlock manages to avoid going under the knife, he's bound to be out for a long time. The Sox will move him to the 60-day injured list when they need a 40-man roster spot. Whitlock, who signed an extension back through 2022, is playing this season on a salary of $3.25MM. He will make consecutive salaries of $5.25MM and $7.25MM over the next two seasons. Boston has a $10.5MM option on his services for the 2027 campaign.
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