From playoff sting to Team USA thrill, Whitlock recounts emotional winter

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Red Sox ace setup man Garrett Whitlock was winding down one night this winter and ready to go to bed when he thought a spam call was coming through on his cellphone.

As most people do in that situation, Whitlock quickly declined the call. But when his voicemail notification popped up right after that, he was starting to think he missed something.

“I'm from Georgia, so a 770 area code popped up, and that's where all my spam goes. So I sent it straight to voicemail,” Whitlock said. “Didn't think anything of it, and saw they left a voicemail. And I was like, generally spam doesn't leave a voicemail. Maybe I should actually check this. And the voicemail was like, ‘Hey, this is DeRo, I think you might know what this is about, so give me a call back.’ So it's pretty funny. I feel bad I sent it straight to voicemail.”

By DeRo, Whitlock was referring to Mark DeRosa, the former Major League player and current manager of Team USA’s World Baseball Classic entry.

And with that callback, Whitlock received the invitation he never even considered -- the one to pitch for his country.

Whitlock’s journey, which included two major elbow surgeries and being picked up by the Red Sox in the Rule 5 Draft between those procedures, added a chapter which he plans on cherishing.

“Yeah, it's a huge honor,” said Whitlock. “I've wanted to do this since I was a kid, play for any of the USA teams, and I was never good enough to have that opportunity. So the fact that they asked me this time, I was honored. So it's a really, really cool opportunity.”

It’s safe to say that Whitlock’s head was spinning when he disconnected from the call. But spinning in the best way possible.

“I remember hanging up the phone and just kind of leaning back in bed and just looking at my wife being like, ‘Oh my gosh. Was that real, or did I just dream that?’ Like I said, it was so surreal,” Whitlock said.

In the coming weeks, as he trained with star Orioles shortstop and Team USA teammate Gunnar Henderson, the reality started to set in.

“Just talking with him about it and everything, it was just like a dream come true,” said Whitlock. “And you know, it's again, never thought I'd be fortunate enough to be in this opportunity. I'm just super thankful that I was asked.”

It was even more meaningful for Whitlock because of the way his 2025 season ended. In Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium, Red Sox manager Alex Cora went all in with his bullpen in hopes of sweeping the best-of-three series.

Starter Brayan Bello exited after just 28 pitches. The plan was working splendidly.

Whitlock came on in the seventh inning of a tie game and worked around a double. In the eighth inning, Whitlock recorded two outs and was tantalizingly close to a clean handoff to elite closer Aroldis Chapman.

But the Yankees worked him and broke his heart. Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked and then made a mad dash around the bases on a single by Austin Wells, putting New York in front. An exhausted Whitlock never got the third out, coming out after loading the bases and recording a season-high 47 pitches.

The next night, the Red Sox were shut down by the electric arm of nerveless righty Cam Schlittler. The Yankees went to Toronto for the Division Series. The Red Sox went home. Whitlock stewed.

“I was mad that I failed. I heard it when I was moving out of my apartment in Boston from the coffee shops and everything like that,” said Whitlock. “Like, ‘Oh, hey, man, great year, but couldn't do it when it counted, so ... .’”

That is part of the experience of playing in Boston. But Whitlock was more mad at himself than the coffee shop employee was. That, he can assure you. The anger was used productively.

“I spent all offseason doing a different conditioning program than I normally do, because I don't want to be embarrassed like that again, where I ran out of steam,” Whitlock said. “I don’t want to ever have that happen again. I was doing sprint work. I was doing shuttles before I would get on the mound to throw a bullpen. So that way I’m already fatigued before taking the mound. I was building extra endurance.”