Garrett Whitlock Adopting New Mindset With Red Sox Role Unclear

Garett Whitlock could be a key piece in the back end of the Boston Red Sox starting rotation this season. Or the right-handed pitcher could be an instrumental figure in Boston’s bullpen.

Whitlock, who received the start in Boston’s first spring training game against MLB competition Saturday, doesn’t know where he will end up. But it really doesn’t matter to the 27-year-old.

Whitlock has bounced from the starting rotation to the bullpen the last two seasons, failing to generate the same type of success he had during a breakout 2021 campaign when he was a dominant reliever capable of throwing multiple innings.

He told reporters that trying to be a starter the last two seasons clouded his mind, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne, but now he’s not concerned with what role he will take on.

That’s because with the help former big league pitcher and mentor Adam Warren, Whitlock’s adopted a new mindset that will aid him with whatever the Red Sox ask of him.

“He told me to adapt that mindset of that swiss army knife where it’s like just throw me in anything and I’ll go out there and do it,” Whitlock told reporters, per the Boston Herald’s Mac Cerullo. “Once you adapt that mindset it frees everything else up where I don’t feel this chip or this burden like, ‘Aw, I’ve got to be a starter,’ or, “Aw, I’ve got to a be a closer.'”

Whitlock made 22 appearances for the Red Sox last season, starting 10 of those games. He posted a 5-5 record with a 5.15 ERA — almost two runs more than his 2022 ERA — and a 1.326 WHIP.

He’s fighting for a spot in the starting rotation again with manager Alex Cora hinting that Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Josh Winckowski are all battling for the final opening.

Cora called Whitlock’s outing Saturday “overall a good one.” Whitlock allowed one run on one hit while striking out two — he fanned No. 1 MLB prospect Jackson Holiday — in two innings in an eventual 4-3 Red Sox loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

After dealing with injuries the past two seasons and now with a changed approach, Whitlock is liking where he’s at even if he doesn’t know yet how everything will shake out by the end of spring training.

“Last year I felt like it was really hard for me to get my hip loose and everything going for multiple innings,” Whitlock said. “But now I feel back to normal and feeling good.”