Boston Red Sox bullpen can survive Garrett Whitlock injury

The Red Sox have placed Garrett Whitlock in the injured list

The last thing a team fighting for a playoff spot this late in the season needs is an injury to a key player and the Boston Red Sox will be without arguably their best bullpen weapon down the stretch. Reliever Garrett Whitlock has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right pectoral strain suffered in his most recent appearance on Sunday.

The rookie has been an indispensable part of the bullpen this season, producing a 1.99 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 9.8 K/9 in 72 1/3 innings. He can log multiple innings out of the bullpen and he’s been tested in high leverage situations. Anything the Red Sox have asked him to do, the right-hander has stepped up to the challenge.

Now the Red Sox will need someone else to step up to fill the void created by his absence. There’s never a good time to lose a player of Whitlock’s caliber but Boston should be able to survive without him temporarily.

According to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, manager Alex Cora doesn’t think the injury is “that serious.” Whitlock is expected to miss only the minimum of 10 days, which means he could return in time for the final four games of the regular season. That allows Whitlock time for an appearance or two late in the season to ensure he’s sharp for the playoffs.

The schedule benefits the Red Sox

The Red Sox were off on Monday and have two more scheduled off days coming up on Thursday and next Monday. Whitlock will be sidelined for at least 10 days but might end up missing only seven games.

The stretch he will miss includes a pivotal series against the New York Yankees, who are looming two games behind them in the Wild Card race. Boston owns the tiebreaker over their division rival so assuming the Red Sox can avoid getting swept at home, they remain in solid position to stay ahead of the Yankees.

The other games Whitlock will miss are against a New York Mets team that is on life support in the NL Wild Card hunt and the lowly Baltimore Orioles.

The Red Sox wrap up the season with three games against the Washington Nationals, who punted on this season at the trade deadline, sank to the bottom of their division and have already been eliminated from postseason contention. If Boston loses any ground this week, they should be able to make up for it with a strong finish.

The Red Sox have bullpen reinforcements

Whitlock has been Boston’s most reliable reliever but they can compensate for his absence with improved depth now that most of their other pitchers have returned from injury and COVID-19.

The Red Sox plan to use a four-man rotation down the stretch, allowing them to move Tanner Houck to the bullpen. He can fill the multi-inning role that Whitlock has thrived in this season.

Houck has struggled when facing an opposing lineup for the second and third time in a game, preventing him from lasting more than five innings in any start. He’s been dominant the first time through the order, holding batters to a .212 average and .561 OPS. As a reliever, opposing hitters own a .150 average and .390 OPS in their first plate appearance against Houck.

Any bullpen is better with Whitlock in in but Houck can handle the role while he’s out. Boston still has Adam Ottavino, Hirokazu Sawamura, Josh Taylor and the revitalized Garrett Richards to handle the heavy lifting from the bullpen. If Matt Barnes can recover from the rough patch he endured prior to landing on the COVID-IL, he can give the Red Sox another formidable late-inning arm.

The news that Whitlock was heading to the injured list was unfortunate but not devastating. As long as he can return before the end of the season and get at least a tuneup before the playoffs, his short-term absence shouldn’t spoil Boston’s aspirations for playing into October.