Garrett Whitlock hasn’t pitched in a spring training game yet, made his last appearance on April 16 a year ago, and had elbow surgery on May 30.

But Boston manager Alex Cora said Sunday that he’s “100 percent” sure Whitlock will be with the Red Sox when they head north for the 2025 season.

Whitlock made four starts and posted a 1-0 record with a 1.96 ERA before he went down last season with damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.
Rather than Tommy John surgery, Whitlock underwent an internal brace procedure, which can cut a couple of months off the recovery time. About a week after Boston’s pitchers and catchers reported for spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, Cora named Whitlock as the player who had caught his eye in the early going.

“The other day, the way he threw the ball,” Cora said. “It’s very similar to who he was in ’21 with more (velocity). I know he has been in the big leagues, and he has been hurt, but I truly believe we have to keep an eye on him because if he keeps going this way, he’s going to have a great season.”

In 2021, Whitlock was a Rule 5 acquisition from the Yankees and was coming off Tommy John surgery. He compiled an 8-4 record with a 1.96 ERA in 731/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen.

After that showing, the Red Sox signed Whitlock to a four-year contract extension meant to keep the right-hander with Boston through the 2026 season, with team options for the 2027 and 2028 campaigns.

In the past three seasons, Whitlock had a 10-7 record with a 4.01 ERA in 1681/3 innings across 57 games. Elbow issues sent him to the injured list twice before he finally needed surgery.

Whitlock has started 23 games, but he’ll be strictly a reliever in 2025, Cora said.

“We’re not going to play with the Whitlock thing,” Cora said. “He’s going to be a reliever.”

The Red Sox revamped their relief corps during the offseason after 36-year-old Kenley Jansen led Boston with 27 saves in 2024.

Boston is counting on a comeback from Tommy John surgery by three-time All-Star and former American League saves leader Liam Hendricks, who hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since June 9, 2023.

The team also signed Aroldis Chapman after the seven-time All-Star struck out 98 in 612/3 innings and saved 14 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season.
The Red Sox open the season against the Texas Rangers on March 27.

PITCHER SIGNS: Days after adding Nick Burdi to their minor league camp roster, the Red Sox added a former top pitching prospect.

Boston has brought back 32-year-old righty José De León and assigned him to minor league camp, a source confirmed Wednesday. De León, who was briefly a member of the organization in 2021, announced the signing himself on Instagram. De León missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery (the second of his career) in June 2023.

De León was a consensus top-40 prospect in baseball before both the 2016 and 2017 seasons as a member of the Rays’ and Dodgers’ organizations (he was traded to Tampa Bay for infielder Logan Forsythe in January 2017). He saw brief major league time in both of those seasons but started dealing with arm troubles during the 2017 campaign. He underwent his first Tommy John surgery in May 2018 and has pitched in five different organizations since, logging a total of 651/3 big league innings (with a 7.44 ERA) in 34 games (seven starts) for the Dodgers, Rays, Reds and Twins.

De León made 12 appearances for Minnesota in 2023 before getting hurt. He was a member of the Red Sox organization for the final two months of the 2021 campaign but only made two appearances, both in Rookie ball.

After finishing his rehab, De León showed a flash of potential in winter ball in Puerto Rico during the offseason. In 131/3 innings between the regular season and Carribbean Series, he logged a 1.32 ERA, striking out 15 and allowing 12 hits. Cora likely got a good look at De León, who made two starts for Cora’s hometown team in Caguas.

De León profiles simply as minor league depth. He’s likely to start the year at Triple-A if he shows something in camp.

THE RED SOX likely won’t face Jacob deGrom when they open the 2025 season against the Texas Rangers.

Instead, they’ll see a familiar face.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy confirmed to reporters including MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry, that deGrom will pitch at the back end of the Texas rotation, meaning Nathan Eovaldi will all but likely be the Opening Day starter.

If the right-hander takes the mound, it will mark his fifth Opening Day start.

Eovaldi was the Opening Day starter for the Red Sox from 2020-22.

He spent five seasons in Boston and helped the team to its 2018 World Series championship. Eovaldi threw 97 pitches in six innings of relief during the 18-inning Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It’s unclear who Cora will tab as Boston’s Opening Day starter, though it’s likely to be new ace Garrett Crochet — who the Red Sox traded for over the offseason.