Sox’ Whitlock looks to prove Yanks wrong
Rule 5 draft pick could be a steal
It was almost 20 months to the date, 608 days to be exact, when Garrett Whitlock last pitched in a baseball game before he stepped on the mound to start the third inning at JetBlue Park on Tuesday.
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
It was a special moment, and another step in the right direction for the new Red Sox pitcher who’s been the talk of camp early this spring.
Whitlock, who the Red Sox snatched from the Yankees in December’s Rule 5 draft, last pitched in a game on July 3, 2019, for Double-A Trenton, when an elbow injury forced him to have Tommy John surgery. He returned in the Red Sox’ 9-3 win over the Rays on Tuesday to throw a pair of strikeouts in two scoreless innings, which also marked his first career spring training appearance.
“To be in that situation was really exciting and fun,” Whitlock said.
Whitlock will certainly hope there are more exciting days ahead of him.
The 24-year-old righthander was left off the Yankees’ 40-man roster after a lost 2020 season, opening him up to be taken in the Rule 5 draft.
With the Red Sox, he’ll have a chance to compete for a spot in the bullpen.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Whitlock said. “I can’t thank the Red Sox enough for picking me and I just want to go out there and compete my butt off and just enjoy the process. It was a nice surprise (to be selected by the Red Sox).”
Alex Cora has continued to rave about him through the first two weeks of camp. The manager was impressed with a bullpen he threw on the first day and he’s only continued to build momentum. But though he pitched two innings on Tuesday, it’s too early to say what his role could look like.
“We just want him to stay healthy and keep progressing,” Cora said. “You guys saw it. I’ve been saying it all along. On the mound, he looks like a pitcher, like a big-league pitcher. The stuff is there. He pays attention to details. Very good kid in the clubhouse, always talking to other pitchers and watching and learning. It was a good first step.
We’ll see where we go with the next one.”
The Red Sox will need to commit to Whitlock this season to keep him around. Due to Rule 5 draft pick rules, the right-hander must stay on the 26-man roster for the entirety of the season or be offered back to the Yankees. That may give him a better chance to make the roster when camp breaks at the end of the month, but he’s not thinking that way.
“The way I’m looking at it, I’ve got to earn a spot,” Whitlock said. “Nothing is given to anybody and there are a ton of talented guys in the locker room and everywhere around here. So I’m just going to compete and let the chips fall where they may but that’s my thought process behind it.”
Dalbec loses some weight, feels lean
Bobby Dalbec is feeling leaner going into 2021 and is hoping that as well as adjustments he made in the offseason can help him build on his recordbreaking first month in the majors last season.
The Red Sox first baseman said Tuesday that he lost about 10 pounds this winter, but that it won’t diminish his power and muscle mass that helped him hit six home runs in his first 10 games last season, including a streak of a homer in five consecutive games.
His offseason goal was twofold, as he also wanted to improve defensively.
“I feel faster, stronger and more fluid,” Dalbec said. “I think that’ll help me be more versatile whether I’m playing first or third or whatever they need me to do, so that was a kind of a goal I wanted to do. … I didn’t really take any time off. As soon as I got back I got right back in the gym and started grinding that stuff out faster. I feel like I got faster and more explosive. I’m trying to be more of a dynamic, complete player.”
J.D. won’t hit second
There’s at least one thing that’s for certain in Alex Cora’s lineup: J.D. Martinez won’t bat second this season.
The Red Sox experimented with their designated hitter in the second spot for seven games last season, and it didn’t really work out.
He batted .222 with three doubles and three RBI, though his on-base percentage was .344. But Cora wants him back in the middle of the order.
“We can talk about lineup configuration all we want, but we’ll hit J.D. in the middle of the lineup and go from there,” Cora said.
“One thing, too, the way we want to play, we want those good baserunners in front of him so that when he hits the ball in the gap, they score from first. Hitting J.D. second, it was a decision the organization made last year, but for me, it’s like, OK, J.D. gets on base by a walk, it’s going to take a while for him to score. Nothing against him. He’s not getting paid to steal bases or score from first. Yeah. But nah, he won’t hit second for us this year.”
Bogaerts progressing
Xander Bogaerts, who is currently shut down with a sore shoulder, was expected to take 30 swings off a tee Tuesday, Cora said. The shortstop’s shoulder issue stemmed from his offseason throwing program, but it’s unclear when he’ll start throwing again.
“He is progressing the right way,” Cora said. “So, I don’t know about the throwing thing, when we start doing that, but the fact he’s going to swing today, it looks like everything is trending the right direction.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told the Herald that Bogaerts had an MRI on the shoulder but it didn’t reveal anything concerning and that he should be ready for Opening Day.