Red Sox, Garrett Whitlock Agree to Extension

The Red Sox have signed Garrett Whitlock to a four-year, $18.75 million contract extension, the club announced Sunday. Whitlock’s new contract will keep him in a Red Sox uniform through at least the 2026 season.

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The #RedSox today signed RHP Garrett Whitlock to a four-year contract extension that spans the 2023-26 seasons, with club options for 2027 and 2028. pic.twitter.com/L7Njg9yPBv

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 10, 2022

Whitlock’s extension will give Boston cost certainty for his pre-arbitration/arbitration years. The Georgia native will get a $1 million signing bonus and salaries of $1 million in 2023, $3.25 million in 2024, $5.25 million in 2025, and $7.25 million in 2026. Whitlock can earn up to $44.5 million over six years if he hits all his incentives.

The contract extension does not begin until 2023.

The Red Sox already have a budding star in Garrett Whitlock; That he has room to grow could turn his extension into a classic Chaim Bloom steal.

Whitlock, 25, came out of nowhere in 2021. In 46 games last season over 73.1 innings, he put up a 1.96 ERA/2.84 FIP/241 ERA+/2.94 xERA, striking out 27.2 percent of batters faced, walking 5.7 percent, allowing six home runs, and holding opposing hitters to a .230 batting average/.631 OPS against.

Among qualified rookie relievers in 2021, Whitlock ranked third in innings and ERA, sixth in FIP and walk rate, in the 90th percentile in xERA, eighth in K-BB% (22 percent), 20th in zone contact (80.4 percent), and 15th in Called + Swinging Strike rate (30 percent).

The former 18th round pick ranked in the 74th percentile in average exit velocity (87.7 mph) and strikeout rate, the 63rd percentile in hard-hit rate (37 percent), the 95th percentile in barrel rate (four percent), the 86th percentile in walk rate and average fastball velocity (96 mph), the 68th percentile in chase rate (29.8 percent) and the 63rd percentile in whiff rate (27.6 percent).

His four-seam fastball, changeup, and slider generated opponent slugging percentages below .300. The fastball and slider generated the highest whiff rates of all his pitches (38 and 39 percent, respectively).

Whitlock and the Red Sox have Matt Andriese to thank for helping him learn the changeup. Now, new teammate Michael Wacha is helping him hone his changeup even further.

The Red Sox clearly have a lot riding on him.

Whitlock, who had Tommy John surgery in 2019, started last season as a multi-inning middle reliever but quickly earned a high leverage setup role. For 2022, the Red Sox will look for Whitlock to go back to that multi-inning role. But this season, he will likely pitch in various situations, including piggybacking Rich Hill‘s starts.

The Red Sox have always viewed Garrett Whitlock as a starting pitcher, and Boston has a lot riding on Whitlock with Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, and Hill in the final season of their contracts.

With Whitlock now under contract for multiple seasons, Boston only has four players with guaranteed contracts for 2023.

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