Red Sox starter suffers another injury while recovering from oblique strain

The Boston Red Sox are watching their season slip away as injuries continue to mount.

Among Boston's injured is Garrett Whitlock, who has spent a month on the club's injured list with a left oblique strain. The injury knocked Whitlock out of the lineup after just four games, but things seemed to be trending in the right direction earlier this week.

Whitlock made a rehab appearance at Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday and performed well during the outing. He pitched 4.2 scoreless innings for the WooSox against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out five. At the time, the Red Sox were contemplating bring Whitlock back to the starting rotation this week against the Tampa Bay Rays but ultimately decided to give him one more rehab start.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora was optimistic that Whitlock would be able to return by next week, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Red Sox will be without Garrett Whitlock for longer than expected

Although Whitlock was expected to return to the lineup by next week, the Red Sox opted to pause the right-hander's throwing program after he began to experience elbow soreness following his rehab start on Wednesday.

The pain began on Friday and was severe enough for the Red Sox to shut him down, according to Cora. Whitlock will undergo further tests over the weekend to determine the severity of the injury, but there is concern that the injury could keep him out for an extended period of time.

"Garrett felt, yesterday, soreness around the elbow area," Cora said on Friday, h/t MassLive. "We’re gonna shut him down for now and see what’s going on this weekend. We’ll know more on Monday. He stayed back home so they’ll do the whole thing over the weekend. We’ll gather information and see where we’re at."

Elbow injuries aren't new for Whitlock. He had two elbow-related injuries in 2023, including one which kept him on the injured list for five weeks. He underwent Tommy John surgery when he was a prospect for the New York Yankees in 2019. Whitlock hasn't pitched a full season as a starter since his time in the minors. He served as an excellent relief option for his first two seasons in the majors, but began suffering injuries as a starter.

Whitlock has performed well when he's been healthy. He allowed just four runs in 18 ⅓ innings prior to the oblique injury.

In Whitlock's absence, Cooper Criswell has stepped into the rotation behind Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck.

Boston entered Sunday with a 23-24 record, which places them 9.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East.