The starting rotation of the Boston Red Sox could have a different look to it by early next week.
Garrett Whitlock, who began the season on the injured list as he continues his recovery from hip surgery, seems on his way to joining the Red Sox as all signs point to him toeing the rubber for his season debut next Tuesday on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
“There’s a good chance,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters prior to Wednesday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, per the Boston Herald’s Gabrielle Starr.
The 26-year-old already has one rehab assignment under his belt as he pitched last Friday for Triple-A Worcester. In that outing against the Syracuse Mets, Whitlock allowed one earned run on six hits in four innings. Whitlock is scheduled to make another, and most likely final, rehab start Thursday for Double-A Portland.
If all goes well there, Whitlock should be en route to the Red Sox, who have received better starting pitching in their last two games from Nick Pivetta and Corey Kluber but have still left a lot to be desired as a staff.
The Red Sox used Whitlock both out of the bullpen and in a starting role a season ago, but the plan this season is to use the right-hander exclusively as a starter. In 31 appearances in 2022, Whitlock notched a 4-2 record and 3.45 ERA while striking out 82 batters in 78 1/3 innings.
With Whitlock in line to pitch Tuesday, it seems he could replace either Tanner Houck or Kutter Crawford in the rotation.
