Red Sox exercise contract option on RHP Garrett Whitlock

Sep 4, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Whitlock (22) pitches in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie LeBlanc-Imagn Images The Boston Red Sox exercised the one-year, $8.25-million contract option on right-hander Garrett Whitlock, the team announced Sunday. Whitlock, 30, was 7-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 54 relief appearances as the setup man to closer Aroldis Chapman. He had 59 strikeouts to nine walks in 52 1/3 innings. After the Red Sox were eliminated from the playoffs, it was revealed that Whitlock had been pitching with a fractured tibia for a month. Whitlock has pitched all six of his major league seasons with Boston, going 32-16 with a 2.93 ERA in 219 appearances (23 starts). Originally an 18th-round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2017, Whitlock attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham before the Red Sox acquired the Georgia native as a Rule 5 selection out of the Yankees system in 2020. --Field Level Media