Red Sox’ Garrett Whitlock shut down due to elbow soreness following rehab start
Alex Cora described Whitlock’s right elbow as feeling “tight” and “sore” on Thursday. He pitched a rehab outing with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.
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On the cusp of returning to the Red Sox following an oblique injury, Garrett Whitlock is being set back because of another ailment.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters ahead of Boston’s game against the Cardinals in St. Louis on Friday that Whitlock started experiencing elbow soreness on Thursday and is being shut down from throwing. The right-handed pitcher had just pitched a rehab outing with Triple-A Worcester earlier in the week as he was working to return to the Red Sox.
Whitlock tossed 4 ⅔ innings with five strikeouts and allowed zero runs on two hits and one walk on Wednesday, seemingly well on his way back from the injured list.
“He felt great throughout the (rehab) outing,” Cora said per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “During the night, felt really good and then yesterday he was doing okay and then we stretched him out, he was tight and he was sore.”
The 27-year-old was expected to join the Red Sox in Tampa Bay early next week and start for the team against the Rays on Monday or Tuesday.
Whitlock is in Boston and will undergo testing this weekend; Boston will know more about his status on Monday, Cora said.
The right-hander is no stranger to elbow injuries. Whitlock underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 when he played in the New York Yankees’ minor league system. Whitlock then remained largely healthy until last season when he was placed on the injured list with elbow problems on two separate occasions: Ulnar neuritis in April and elbow inflammation in July. He missed no more than a month and a half with each issue in 2023.
Whitlock pushed through last season and avoided surgery despite his injures, working out of the rotation to start the year and ending it in the bullpen. He landed a spot in the starting five this season and looked sharp in his four starts before suffering an oblique injury, but that ailment didn’t seem to be a major issue.
Now, Whitlock finds himself back to square one with another concerning elbow injury.
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