Red Sox Notebook: Rule 5 pick Whitlock continues to impress; Cordero nearing return

Until a little more than a month ago, Garrett Whitlock hadn't thrown a baseball in a competitive environment since the first half of 2019. He had never so much as stepped foot into a major league spring training camp and he had never faced any hitters above Double A.

But Whitlock, the Red Sox' Rule 5 pick from the New York Yankees last December, doesn't look at all out of place.

In the Sox' 11-7 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Rays Friday, Whitlock tossed three nearly perfect innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while recording five strikeouts. In nine innings this spring, he's allowed one earned run, fanned 12 and walked no one.

"He plays the part on the mound,'' said Alex Cora. "Great body, great mechanics and he throws hard. He has a good two-seamer, he's developing the changeup, good breaking ball. He attacked the zone today and he was able to expand, hold the runner...What Garrett did today was impressive, but he's been doing that the whole spring. It was a great day for him.''

Whitlock underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of 2019 and sees this spring as a rebirth for him.

"He was hungry to compete, because he hadn't been able to compete for a while,'' said Cora. "He's bought into the concept of what we're trying to do here and he's executing. He's very talented.''

Cora praised Whitlock's preparation and willingness to learn, noting that he goes out of his way to watch other more experienced pitchers on the roster throw bullpens.

"One thing about him is he'll show up tomorrow and he'll ask, 'What can do I better?' '' said Cora. "That's the key for him. He's done that the whole camp.''

"Staying healthy has been a big thing for me, for sure,'' Whitlock said. "For me, (it's also) not taking anything for granted anymore and just loving every second out there. That's what I'm focused on right now -- loving everything, listening to veterans and soaking everything up.''



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Franchie Cordero, who missed nearly two weeks waiting out COVID-19 protocol, will see his first Grapefruit League action Saturday when he serves as DH for the Red Sox. If all goes well, Cordero could make his outfield debut Monday. It's still highly doubtful that Cordero will be part of the active roster when the Sox begin their season on April 1. He hasn't done a lot of running yet, and the Red Sox don't want to ramp him up too quickly and risk the sort of strains or pulls that have dogged Cordero in his career.

"The concern is, playing him too much right away in the outfield,'' said Cora. "Obviously, we know about his history with injuries so we have to be careful about that. But as far as the at-bats, he's probably got more at-bats than (team leader Michael) Chavis, who's leading the team with 31. We feel comfortable with that.''

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Christian Arroyo, battling for one of the final roster spots, recently began volunteering himself for outfield duty, taking some fly balls during workouts.

"It's something he thought about,'' said Cora. "I guess he looks around and sees Marwin (Gonzalez) and Enrique (Hernandez), and was like, 'You know what? Maybe learning the outfield position can help me throughout my career.' ''

Arroyo is in a battle for one of the final couple of spots on the roster, and figures to make himself more valuable if he contribute in the outfield. In his major league career, Arroyo has played exclusively in the infield (third, shortstop and second base), but was willing to get some work in in the outfield to give the club more options -- especially with Cordero likely to be on the I.L. for the first week or so of the season.

Conversely, with Hernandez likely to get more playing time in the outfield until Cordero returns, Arroyo could find more opportunities at second.

"It's important (to be versatile),'' said Cora. "Obviously we have to make some decisions, but that's something we can see. He's made some great plays, he's been able to turn double plays and he's a good at-bat. Let's see where it takes us, but so far, from what I saw on TV and video and in person, this is a much better version of Christian. He's in better shape, he can move better now and he can do some things I thought he wasn't able to do the last few years.''

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Reliever Ryan Brasier, who fell behind thanks to a fracture at the base of his right pinky finger and a two-week return home to Texas for personal reasons, threw a bullpen Friday. "I don't know if he's going to be able to be in games,'' said Cora. "We'll see how he feels. But he's probably still a live BPs (behind) and if that doesn't happen before we break camp, obviously it's going to be hard (to get him in games). But like I said, we have to be patient. We don't want to push him. He's very important to what we're trying to do and he knows it.''

Jarren Duran, given the start in center field, was 4-for-5, including a run-scoring double that just missed leaving the ballpark in center field. Duran is hitting .407 for the spring ... Chavis smacked his fifth homer of the spring, tying with him Bobby Dalbec for the team lead ... Nathan Eovaldi allowed five runs in his first two innings of work before making some adjustments and keeping the Rays scoreless in the final two. He attributed his early struggles to Tampa Bay hitters sitting on his fastball. Eovaldi's Grapefruit League ERA sits at 10.61.