Whitlock allowed two hits and one walk while striking out five over 4.1 scoreless innings in Friday's spring game against the Twins.

EDGE Analysis

This was the best of Whitlock's five Grapefruit League starts and a reminder that he's not out of the competition for one of the two available slots in the rotation. He threw 62 pitches (44 strikes), put batters away after getting ahead in the count. "The swings and misses from the get-go, that's a game changer," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Ian Browne of MLB.com. "He's been working hard with his cutter and the slider/sweeper. The good thing about him is he's always ahead. It's about putting them away. Not only inducing them to weak contact, but swings and misses are good, too." Whitlock has a 3.45 ERA with 16 strikeouts and two walks over 15.2 spring innings. His main competition is Tanner Houck, Cooper Criswell and, to an extent, Josh Winckowski.

Whitlock allowed two runs on four hits with two strikeouts over three innings in Tuesday's spring start against Tampa Bay.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock made his third Grapefruit League start and has allowed runs in all three. When the day began, he was in a competition for one rotation opening with Tanner Houck and Josh Winckowski; however, circumstances changed by the time he took the mound. The club announced Lucas Giolito is experiencing elbow soreness. One report called it a partial UCL tear and flexor strain, which is likely season-ending injury. That would mean two of the Whitlock/Houck/Winckowski group will enter the rotation, unless the organization reaches out to an existing free agent, such as Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell. Whitlock has allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out 10 over eight innings.

Whitlock is expected to build up to five-plus innings even if he's not a projected member of the starting rotation, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

EDGE Analysis

Boston is being put to work immediately out of the gate with 23 games in 25 days across five cities. As such, a sixth starter could be needed during the first month of the season. Both Whitlock and Tanner Houck will be prepped for five-plus innings.

Whitlock allowed one run on one hit while striking out two over two innings in Saturday's spring start against Baltimore.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock allowed some loud contact during his opening frame, including an Adley Rutschman home run on a 3-1 changeup. Red Sox manager Alex Cora was largely pleased with the outing. "He fell into some deep counts," Cora told Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. "Conditions were conducive to fly balls going out of the ballpark. But overall it was a good outing. The quality of pitches was good. So now we move on to the next one." Whitlock is in the mix for a spot in the rotation, but the right-hander said he's not as consumed with being a starter as he was the past two seasons, which have featured injuries and inconsistency. "I kind of took a page from Adam Warren (a former teammate), where he told me, once you adapt that mind-set of being a Swiss Army knife, where you can be thrown into anything and excel, it frees everything else up," Whitlock said. He's in the mix for one of two spots in the rotation along with Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Josh Winckowski.

Whitlock is preparing to compete for a spot in the Red Sox's Opening Day rotation this spring, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

Fully healthy again after battling elbow issues at various points last season, Whitlock threw his first live batting practice of spring training Wednesday, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com reports. Though Whitlock opened the 2023 campaign as a starter, he worked out of the bullpen over his final 12 appearances upon returning in August following his third stint on the injured list. In November, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told Alex Speier of The Boston Globe that the Red Sox planned to have Whitlock get stretched back out for a starting role heading into the spring training, and the right-hander looks like he's right where he needs to be in his buildup program at this stage of camp. Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford project as the Red Sox's top four starters in some order to begin spring training, leaving Whitlock to battle with Tanner Houck and Josh Winckowski for the final spot, which became open after Chris Sale was traded to Atlanta in December.

Whitlock picked up the save in Friday's 3-0 victory over the Orioles. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock notched his first save of 2023 (ninth of his career) Friday night with the two-inning outing. The 27-year-old righty has been solid in a relief role throughout September with a 2.89 ERA, 0.86 ERA and 10:2 K:BB over 9.1 innings. The 33-pitch, multi-inning effort likely ends Whitlock's tough season in which he's thrown 71.2 innings to the tune of a 5.15 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 72:13 K:BB.

Boston activated Whitlock from the bereavement list ahead of Sunday's game against the Orioles, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock was excused from the Red Sox for a week as he dealt with a private family mater. He'll return Sunday to a multi-inning relief role, with Joe Jacques getting optioned out to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding roster move.

The Red Sox placed Whitlock on the bereavement list Sunday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock will be away from the Red Sox for at least the next three days -- and no more than seven -- as he tends to a personal matter. Lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino (illness) was activated from the COVID-19 injured list in a corresponding move.

Whitlock allowed two hits and a walk while striking out one over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-5 extra-inning win over Houston.

EDGE Analysis

Whitlock had traffic on the bases in each of his two innings but was able to work around it. That included a nifty sliding catch of Alex Bregman's popup in foul territory. The play was officially ruled batter interference, because Bregman impeded catcher Connor Wong's ability to make the play. The game also featured Boston closer Kenley Jansen leaving due to a hamstring issue. Pending the severity of injury, Whitlock, a trusted setup arm, could be used for save opportunities.

Whitlock (5-3) earned the win in Sunday's 6-3 triumph over the Tigers. He allowed one unearned run while striking out three over two hitless innings.

EDGE Analysis

It was an impressive return for Whitlock, who'd been sidelined since July 4 with a bone bruise in his elbow. The 27-year-old right-hander made 10 starts for the Red Sox earlier this year, though he figures to work out of the bullpen going forward. Overall, Whitlock sports a 5.03 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP and 50:7 K:BB across 53.2 innings this season.