Garrett Whitlock Diagnosed With Fractured Tibia

Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock capped off a terrific regular season with a quality September, but it turns out he worked through a serious injury over the final month of the campaign. Whitlock unknowingly pitched with a fractured right tibia, he told Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald.

Boston’s season ended in late September at the hands of the archrival Yankees, who swept them in a two-game Wild Card round matchup. Whitlock made his lone appearance in Game 2 and yielded three earned runs on three hits, including a Cody Bellinger homer, and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. The right-hander was diagnosed with a fracture when he underwent imaging after the series, per Starr, who adds he will not require surgery. While Whitlock will spend four to six weeks in a walking boot, he should be back to full strength in plenty of time for Spring Training.

The Red Sox’s staff helped Whitlock with pain management in September, but you wouldn’t know he was hurt by looking at his results. The 30-year-old took the ball eight times last month and didn’t allow an earned run over 7 1/3 innings. He fanned nine, walked two and scattered six hits along the way.

Whitlock dodged the injured list in September, but he had two separate IL stints as a result of knee inflammation and an elbow issue earlier in the season. When healthy enough to pitch, he was one of the majors’ premier relievers for the second year in a row. While relying on a sinker, slider and changeup, he notched a 1.72 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and a 4.5% walk rate in 52 1/3 innings. Among 140 relievers who amassed at least 50 frames, Whitlock ranked fourth in walk rate, sixth in ERA and ninth in K-BB percentage. He also tallied a career-high 26 holds, giving him 50 since 2025.

Thanks to Whitlock and closer Aroldis Chapman, the Red Sox boasted an elite late-game setup this season. Chapman’s option vested after he passed a physical last week, setting him up to return in 2027 for between $13MM and $14MM. Whitlock, a 2020 Rule 5 pick whom the Red Sox stole from the Yankees, is still under control via the four-year extension he signed in 2022. The Red Sox will surely exercise his $8.25MM club option for 2027 in lieu of a $1MM buyout in the coming weeks. Whitlock also has a similarly reasonable $10.5MM club option for 2028.