Garrett Whitlock’s season-ending surgery cements need for Red Sox change
Red Sox star Garrett Whitlock to undergo season-ending hip surgery
The hip ailment Garrett Whitlock’s been pitching through for a significant portion of the season is now ending it.
On Tuesday afternoon, Alex Speier reported that the Boston Red Sox have shut down their prized pitcher. He’ll have arthroscopic surgery on his right hip in New York and should be ready to go for the 2023 season. He also noted that manager Alex Cora hinted that Whitlock could be a starter or reliever next year, which is an interesting development to note for the future.
Whitlock last pitched on September 16, throwing a scoreless inning against the Kansas City Royals. After back-to-back 3 ER appearances two weeks ago, it had been encouraging to see the 26-year-old righty look like he was getting back on track. Prior to allowing three earned runs to the Minnesota Twins on August 31, Whitlock hadn’t allowed more than one earned run in any relief appearance this season.
There have been injuries up and down the roster this year, but the pitching staff has been hit hardest. Nick Pivetta is the only member of the starting rotation who hasn’t spent time on the Injured List. For various stretches of time, the bullpen went without Matt Strahm, Tyler Danish, Tanner Houck, and Whitlock. Houck also underwent season-ending surgery recently.
Some injuries were freak accidents, like Chris Sale and Trevor Story both getting hit on the hand. But the sheer number of other injuries, especially to pitchers, must force the Sox to look inward. Has the way the coaching or medical staff handled players contributed to the problem? Chaim Bloom built a risky roster, but there could also be a reason the injury bug has decimated this team all year. So many injuries cannot be a coincidence.
Pitching has won the Red Sox four championships, and its absence has cost them promising seasons.
The Sox have one of the highest payrolls in baseball this year, so they will pay a 20% tax on the overage while coming in last place; pretty unacceptable by their standards. Injuries haven’t been their only issue – far from it – but it’s pretty difficult to overcome having a dozen players on the IL at the same time.
