For the second consecutive year under chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox partook in in the major-league portion of Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 Draft, selecting right-hander Garrett Whitlock from the Yankees organization.
Whitlock, 24, was originally drafted by New York in the 18th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
A native of Georgia, Whitlock most recently pitched at the Double-A level in 2019, posting a 3.07 ERA and 3.09 xFIP over 14 starts and 70 1/3 innings pitched for Trenton before undergoing Tommy John surgery last July.
The 6-foot-5, 190 lb. righty relies on a three-pitch mix that includes an average sinker, slider, and changeup, per his FanGraphs scouting report. He also works from a lower arm slot, which allows him to add more deception to his delivery.
Based off the fact he underwent Tommy John last summer, Whitlock should be ready for the start of the 2021 season, especially when you consider the fact he was up to 94 mph in August.
Assuming Whitlock is healthy and is still on the team come February, one might expect him to compete for a spot either at the back end of Boston’s starting rotation or as a swingman capable of providing multiple innings out of the bullpen. We will have to wait and see on that.
With the addition of Whitlock, the Red Sox’ 40-man roster currently sits at 39 players.
And of course, as noted by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, “Boston paid New York $100,000 for [Whitlock]. He must remain on the active roster the entire 2021 season (barring an injured list stint) or be offered back to his previous club, the Yankees, for $50,000.”
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