Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Hints At Garrett Whitlock's New Role Next Season

Whitlock was used as a starter and reliever in 2022

Scott Neville | Oct 3, 2022

Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Hints At Garrett Whitlock's New Role Next Season /

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Boston Red Sox

Did Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer accidently reveal Garrett Whitlock's role for 2023 and beyond?

His defense of one area of Whitlock's game seemed to indicate as much. When asked about the 26-year-old's role for the upcoming season, Bloom would not give a point-blank answer, but left room for assumptions.

"I’m not ready to break news on that front," Bloom told The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. "I think we’re fortunate in him to have someone that wherever you put him he’s going to be able to impact the club.

"I will say I think that just because of the situation our bullpen was in and the situation he was in physically, I think there’s this perception he didn’t succeed as a starter. But when you really peel back the layers and look at what he did, it was pretty impressive. Especially having to (move into the rotation) on the fly.”

Bloom immediately coming to the defense of Whitlock as a starter implies which direction the team is leaning, especially since it's the most likely course of action.

The right-hander reportedly has incentives in his deal for innings pitched, which indicates that both Whitlock and the Red Sox want him to move in that direction at some point in the remaining four seasons of his current deal. It would make no sense for Whitlock to transition from reliever to starter later in his career, so the time to do so will almost certainly be in the upcoming season.

That said, there is a near-identical sample size to prove that the young star is better suited for a multi-inning relief role than he is a spot in the rotation.

Whitlock was 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 44-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .179 batting average against in 39 1/3 innings across 22 appearances.

He was 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA, 38-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio and .261 BAA in 39 innings across nine starts.

Whitlock saw an expected uptick in velocity and spin out of the bullpen as well. While the numbers are clearly better as a reliever, it's important to note that he was not healthy for the majority of the season, as he was limping around well before and after his stint on the injured list. Any implications from this season should have some degree of an asterisks next to it.

We could see a much better version of Whitlock next season, regardless of his role.

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Published Oct 3, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu