Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock Suffers Setback In Injury Recovery Plan

Just as it looked like the Boston Red Sox were close to another impact arm returning to the rotation, a bump in the road stopped that progress.

Garrett Whitlock appeared to make progress in returning from an oblique injury after making a rehab start with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday. Following that outing, Whitlock experienced elbow soreness and will be shut down for the time being as Alex Cora told reporters on Friday, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

“Garrett felt soreness around the elbow area (yesterday),” Cora told reporters, per Browne. “So we’re gonna shut him down for now, see what’s going on this weekend and we’ll know more on Monday. So that’s where we’re at. He felt great throughout the outing. During the night, felt really good and then yesterday he was doing OK and then we stretched him out, he was tight and he was sore, so that’s where we’re at.”

Whitlock last pitched for the Red Sox on April 16 against the Cleveland Guardians, exiting his start prematurely with an oblique injury. The right-hander then started a stint on the injured list, despite pushing back against the eventual decision.

Before landing on the IL, Whitlock went 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA for the Red Sox in four starts, finding a boost in his pitching arsenal as one of Andrew Bailey’s several beneficiaries as the collective staff took a step forward.

The Red Sox have gotten Nick Pivetta and Brayan Bello back from injuries in recent weeks, re-strengthening baseball’s best pitching staff. Now, the focus turns to the severity and adjusted timeline of Whitlock’s rehab.

At 22-22, the Red Sox push forward searching for widespread consistency in each phase of the game to stay competitive.