It appears that Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock is trending in the right direction in terms of his availability for the 2025 MLB season. On Monday, Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said that Whitlock is expected to see action for at least most of the upcoming campaign, per Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald.
Additionally, the Red Sox also got positive injury and recovery updates for starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Liam Hendriks.
In the 2024 season, Whitlock appeared in only four games for the Red Sox before going under the knife to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament, thus effectively ending his campaign.
In those appearances, Whitlock allowed just four earned runs on 14 hits with a home run and 17 strikeouts plus seven free passes issued across 18.1 innings. He was placed by Boston on the 60-day injured list in June before the Red Sox took him off of it in November.
Cerullo also mentioned that the 28-year-old Whitlock is continuing his rehab in the minors as he looks to be ready for his return to the big leagues as soon as possible. He had stints in the minors with the Worcester Red Sox in May, seeing action for just 4.2 innings and giving up zero earned runs on two hits.
Whitlock signed a two-year deal worth $38.5 million with the Red Sox in 2023, which will pay him $19 million in 2025. That's after he picked up his player option for 2025 in October, an understandable decision considering his health status.
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Red Sox get more positive updates for Lucas Giolito, Liam Hendriks
As for Hendriks, the three-time All-Star “should pitch most if not all of 2025,” according to Cerullo. Hendriks missed the entire 2024 MLB season because of an elbow injury and after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
There were expectations that he would make his Red Sox debut in September, but that ultimately did not take place. The 35-year-old Hendriks has a career win-loss record of 33-34 with 116 saves and a 3.82 ERA through 476 appearances and 650.0 innings.
Like Hendriks, Giolito failed to make his Red Sox debut in 2024 due to an elbow injury that was addressed via surgery in March, thus ending his season. The 30-year-old Giolito signed a two-year, $38.5 million deal with the Red Sox in 2023 then picked up his $19 million player option for the 2025 season in October.
