Whitlock is penciled in to start Thursday's game in Toronto, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Red Sox haven't officially confirmed he will get the ball Thursday, but Whitlock is the most logical choice to stick in the rotation since Tanner Houck isn't eligible to make his scheduled turn in Toronto this week due to his vaccination status. Boston had already seemingly prepared for Houck's absence in Toronto by handing Whitlock his first start of the season Saturday, when the 25-year-old right-hander struck out seven and allowed one baserunner over four scoreless frames. He's thus lined up to return to the hill Thursday on the standard four days' rest, and he should be able to bump up his workload a bit from the 48 pitches he tossed against Tampa Bay.

Whitlock tossed four scoreless innings against Tampa Bay on Saturday, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out seven.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock was making a spot start after coming out of the bullpen for each of his first four appearances, so he was removed after the fourth inning despite a dominant performance during which he retired the first nine batters he faced and allowed just one hit overall. The right-hander registered 11 swings and misses among his 48 pitches and struck out a season-high seven batters. Whitlock is likely to move back into the bullpen following this start, but his 0.66 ERA, 0.51 WHIP and 18:2 K:BB this season suggests he is capable of thriving in any role.

Whitlock will start Saturday's game against the Rays, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Tanner Houck's decision not to vaccinate himself against COVID-19 has forced the Red Sox to shuffle their rotation around, as he'll be ineligible to cross the border into Canada when the team travels to Toronto next week. Whitlock will make a spot start as part of that shuffling. Exactly how long he'll be able to pitch is not yet clear, though he did make a four-inning relief appearance back on April 12, which suggests he won't be significantly limited Saturday.

Whitlock will likely start Saturday's game against the Rays unless he's used in relief Thursday or Friday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock served mainly as a starter in the minors, but his first 50 big-league appearances have come in relief. He's been effective early in 2022, posting a 0.93 ERA and 0.62 WHIP in 9.2 innings while picking up a win and converting one of two save chances. However, the Red Sox are shuffling their rotation ahead of their upcoming road trip to Toronto, so manager Alex Cora said Whitlock will likely make his first major-league start on the road against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Whitlock secured a save after tossing a perfect ninth inning in Tuesday's victory over the Blue Jays.

EDGE Analysis

The 25-year-old produced a one-two-three inning on his way to his first of the 2022 campaign after he blew an opportunity April 8 against the Yankees. Whitlock had only pitched in long relief this year prior to Tuesday, but he now has a 1-0 record with a sparkling 0.93 ERA and 0.62 WHIP while striking out 11 batters over 9.2 innings.

Whitlock allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five over 2.1 scoreless relief innings in Saturday's 4-0 win over Minnesota.

EDGE Analysis

Red Sox starter Tanner Houck worked 5.2 innings before turning it over to Matt Strahm and Whitlock. For Whitlock, all three of his outings this season have gone multiple innings. He's targeted to follow Rich Hill on days when he starts. Hill is due to start Monday, but it's unclear how many bullets Whitlock will have after throwing 30 pitches Saturday.

Whitlock (1-0) allowed one walk and struck out two over four scoreless relief innings to pick up the win in Tuesday's 5-3 victory over Detroit.

EDGE Analysis

Boston manager Alex Cora's decision to pitch Whitlock on top of 42-year-old, left-handed starter Rich Hill worked as planned. Pairing these two pitchers every fifth day will be common. "There's a reason we like them together," Cora explained to Dana Wakiji of MLB.com. "They're gonna load up with righties against Rich and... then we can turn the page to Whitlock and we get a lot of good matchups for us. I think both of them complement each other well, 88 with ride and then 94-95 with that stuff. It's a good plan. It's just a matter of how long we can do it." Whitlock has made two appearances and allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out six over 6.1 innings. At this point, the Red Sox will keep in this multi-inning role, although some may evolve into a save opportunity.

Whitlock agreed to a four-year extension to remain in Boston through 2026 on Sunday, with two additional club options for 2027 and 2028.

EDGE Analysis

The base of the deal will cover each of the seasons for which Whitlock is arbitration eligible, and the club options cover his first two years of free agency. Whitlock is a valuable arm out of Boston's bullpen, as he is capable of working multiple innings or in high-leverage roles. He could also shift into the starting rotation at some point, though he has yet to do so at the big-league level.

Whitlock allowed a run on two hits and struck out four over 2.1 innings in Friday's 6-5 extra-innings loss to the Yankees.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock entered the game in the sixth inning and breezed through seven outs before allowing a game-tying home run to DJ LeMahieu in the eighth inning on a fastball up in the zone. He was immediately removed following the homer, and it was not clear if manager Alex Cora would have used Whitlock for a four-inning save had he retained the lead. The Red Sox have not named a closer, and the bullpen structure was not made any clearer after Opening Day, which also included news of Matt Barnes' back injury.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed Monday that Whitlock will serve as a piggyback pitcher behind fifth starter Rich Hill to begin the season, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, Cora has said the goal is to get more than 70 innings out of Whitlock for the second year in a row, and deploying the 25-year-old as a quasi-sixth starter rather than a traditional reliever should help accomplish that. The arrangement should also help ease the burden on the 42-year-old Hill, who is coming off a season with the Rays and Mets in which he covered 158.2 innings but otherwise hasn't been durable for the majority of his career. Since Whitlock has been steadily increasing his pitch count throughout the spring, he's expected to be available for an extended relief outing behind starter Nathan Eovaldi in Thursday's Opening Day game against the Yankees, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. With the benefit of a team off day Friday, Whitlock should then be ready to pitch on four days' rest when Hill's first turn in the rotation comes up April 12 in Detroit.