BOSTON -- The Red Sox will have their ace setup man back in the fold for next season, announcing on Sunday they had picked up right-hander Garrett Whitlock's $8.25 million option.
Whitlock and closer Aroldis Chapman have formed a nearly impenetrable back end of the bullpen for Boston the past two seasons.
Whitlock took the ball 54 times in 2026, notching a 1.72 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. In 52 1/3 innings, the 30-year-old had 59 strikeouts to go with just nine walks. He held opponents to a .204 batting average and a .524 OPS.
Whitlock has spent his entire Major League career with the Red Sox, after the club procured him from the Yankees in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. To this point, he has been the best Rule 5 pick in team history for Boston.
The Red Sox also hold an $8.25 million option on Whitlock for 2028. In the first week of Whitlock’s second season with Boston, he signed a four-year, $18.75 million extension that included the two club options.
Whitlock and his best friend, right-hander Tanner Houck, are the only two players left on the Red Sox from the last time the club won a postseason series in 2021.
Whitlock has pitched in 219 games, including 23 starts, in his six seasons with Boston, posting a 2.93 ERA in 366 innings.
Whitlock had two abbreviated stints on the injured list in 2026. He was shut down in late May with left knee inflammation and again in mid-August with right knee inflammation.
He spent the final month of the season pitching with discomfort in his right leg. Whitlock didn’t realize he had a fractured tibia until he underwent tests after the Red Sox were eliminated by the Yankees in an AL Wild Card Series.
Aside from Whitlock’s excellence on the field, he has become Boston’s leader in community work, serving as the team’s Jimmy Fund captain and being selected as the team’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee in 2026. The Mets’ Francisco Lindor won that prestigious award.