Apr 29, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; A view of the Boston Red Sox logo and a field bag during batting practice before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Is Red Sox's $19M Unsung Hero Being Overlooked Thanks To Aroldis Chapman?

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Closers get all the shine among relief pitchers, and this season, the Boston Red Sox are no exception.

Aroldis Chapman has merited every bit of praise he's received. He lowered his ERA to 0.98 on Sunday while somehow striking out four batters in a single inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But Chapman wasn't the reason the Red Sox won that game, and he's not the subject of this article.

Setup man Garrett Whitlock is having a stretch almost as dominant as Chapman's over the last two months, and his teammate might be causing us to overlook him. That ends Monday, the day after Whitlock proved to be the real difference-maker in a game the Sox had to win.

Garrett Whitlock's incredible season continues

Whitlock came into the game in a situation the Red Sox desperately wanted to avoid using him. Zack Kelly blew a 4-3 lead in the seventh and left a mess behind, with runners on first and second and the top of the Arizona order coming up. Then, while Whitlock was pitching to his first batter, the D-backs pulled off a double steal, putting the go-ahead run 90 feet away with only one out.

What did Whitlock do from there? Struck out Arizona's peskiest hitter in Geraldo Perdomo, got out of the jam against Ketel Marte, then set down the 3-4-5 hitters in the eighth, all on just 18 total pitches.

It's almost taken for granted these days that Whitlock will deliver a clean eighth in front of Chapman. He's sporting a 2.48 ERA of his own, striking out 79 batters in 65 1/3 innings. But we haven't seen this version of Whitlock since 2021, and it shouldn't be taken for granted at all.

Hat tip for the partial inspiration of this piece to Tyler Milliken of the Section 10 Podcast. On Monday, Milliken pointed out that Whitlock's 0.74 ERA since July 1 is second only to Chapman's 0.43 among all major league relief pitchers. Having Chapman available for the ninth is made all the more reassuring by bringing in Whitlock in front of him.

That the Red Sox were able to lock down a four-year, $18.75 million extension for Whitlock before the 2022 season is only looking better. He's under team control through 2028, and now that the starting pitching experiment has officially ended, he's as sure a thing as you can find among big-league setup men.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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