Whitlock lands on IL
But Cora expects rookie back before season’s end
The Red Sox will have to chase a playoff berth without their best young reliever.
Garrett Whitlock, who left Sunday’s win over the Orioles with a right pectoral strain, is heading to the injured list. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the injury is not serious, but they don’t expect Whitlock to return this week.
Whitlock was put on the IL retroactive to Monday, which means he could be back before the end of the season. Cora expects the rookie to pitch again in the regular season.
“We believe so,” Cora said. The Red Sox recalled Ryan Brasier from Triple-A Worcester to fill Whitlock’s spot.
Whitlock, who the Red Sox took in last year’s Rule 5 draft, has been the Red Sox’ best surprise this season. The rookie’s 1.99 ERA in 72 1/3 is the third-best mark in baseball among pitchers who have thrown 70 innings, and he’s been a critical piece to Cora’s bullpen in multi-inning and high-leverage situations. He’ll be a tough loss over the next week as the Sox play pivotal games with postseason implications.
“We’ve got some capable guys and somebody has to step up,” Cora said. “We’ve got Tanner (Houck) down in the bullpen. He’ll do his job back there and we have some guys that actually were able to reset over the weekend, staying away from them. They’re fresh.
“It doesn’t matter who you lose now, it’s a big hit anyway. Whoever you lose on the roster now is a big one. It can be your star player or your utility guy. You don’t want to lose guys. Somebody else has to step up. I think we’ve done a good job throughout the season and especially the last 15, 20 days to do that. The next guy has to step up and do the job.”
Christian Arroyo’s waiting game
Christian Arroyo was activated from the COVID-19 related injured list after testing positive on Aug. 29, but it seems that the Red Sox will ease him back. Arroyo played in three rehab games with Triple-A Worcester, but after spending a long period on the injured list with a strained hamstring to start the second half, the Red Sox want to make sure he’s right for big games down the stretch and into October.
With Jose Iglesias playing well at second base, it buys some time for the Red Sox to bring back Arroyo. But since Iglesias is not eligible to be on the postseason roster, they want Arroyo at his best. Cora said he’s going to talk to Arroyo at some point soon to go over the situation.
“Christian hasn’t had too many at-bats in a month and a half,” Cora said. “We all know the situation with Jose, that if we make it, he’s not part of it. We just have to make sure that Christian’s timing is on point because when he comes here, I’m not saying he’s going to play every day or whatever, but at one point we know what’s going to happen and he’s going to be very important to what we’re trying to accomplish. We need him to be, and I’ll repeat myself, on point timing wise. …
“I think we have time for him to get his repetitions and get to where he wants to be and where we want him to be, but at the same time obviously his input is very important.”
Cora said it’s “very important” to keep Kiké Hernández, who can play second, in center field. But the Red Sox aren’t flush with options at second base for the postseason beyond Arroyo.
“We’ll talk about it,” Cora said. “We can make adjustments later on with the roster, but right now, this is where we’re at. Iggy is doing an outstanding job. Christian can do the job. If everything happens the way we envision, then we’ll have to make decisions in October.”
Odds & ends
Chris Sale will start Wednesday night against the Mets, which will give him three starts to end the season. That would line him up to pitch next Tuesday at Baltimore and the season finale in Washington. …
The Red Sox announced their minor league awards on Tuesday. Nick Yorke, their 2020 first-round pick who was promoted from Low-A to High-A this season, was named the offensive player of the year. Brayan Bello — 3.87 ERA, 122 strikeouts in 21 starts between Greenville and Portland — was named the starting pitcher of the year, and Durbin Feltman is the reliever of the year.