The Red Sox announced that right-hander Garrett Whitlock has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 25th, with left knee inflammation. Left-hander Tyler Samaniego was recalled to take his spot on the roster.
It’s unclear how much time Whitlock will miss but it’s an unfortunate blow to the Sox. Whitlock has been one of their better leverage arms recently. He racked up 24 holds and a save last year. He has already added another nine holds this season. Combining the 2025 and 2026 campaigns, he has thrown 91 2/3 innings with a 2.45 earned run average. His 8% walk rate and 43.4% ground ball rate in that time are pretty close to par while his 31% strikeout rate is well above average.
The injury is also frustrating due to the way it happened. The Sox and Twins were playing through some rain on Sunday and Whitlock slipped on a wet mound, causing some knee soreness. It seems Whitlock and the club spent the past few days monitoring the knee before deciding to put him on the shelf. Since he hasn’t pitched since then, they have backdated the IL placement by the three-day maximum. If Whitlock’s knee feels better quickly, he could be back in less than two weeks.
The Sox have Aroldis Chapman in the closer role but other arms will have to step in to take over Whitlock’s leverage innings while he’s out. Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert could be some of the options there. Weissert has a 3.80 ERA in 21 1/3 innings for the Sox this year. His 22.3% strikeout rate is around par but his 7.4% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate are a few ticks better than average. Slaten spent time on the IL and only has 8 2/3 innings pitched on the year with a 4.15 ERA but a huge 32.4% strikeout rate.
Ideally, Whitlock’s absence will be minimal but any setback for the club looms large at the moment. The Sox are out to a rough 23-31 start, putting them only three games up on the last-place Angels in the American League standings. What is working in Boston’s favor is that many other A.L. clubs are also scuffling, so Boston is only three games back of a Wild Card spot.
Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images
