Those waiting for Garrett Whitlock’s return to the Red Sox’s rotation will have to wait a little longer…
Boston received disappointing news on Friday as Alex Cora informed us that the key right-handed starter has encountered a setback and will not be returning this coming week as had been reported as recently as one day ago.
Whitlock, who has been on the shelf with right elbow soreness for a month, is being shut down indefinitely after experiencing a re-aggravation of the injury following a Wednesday rehab start with Triple-A Worcester.
“Felt yesterday (Thursday) soreness around the elbow area, so we’ve gotta shut him down for now,” Cora told reporters before Friday’s game.
Cora said Whitlock did not travel with the team for their trip to St. Louis and will receive imaging, noting that the team will expect to know the full severity by Monday.
“I think it’s more (deflating) about the last few years than anything else, you know?” Cora said. “But one thing about this kid, he’s resilient, he’s strong, he’s been through worse. Hopefully it’s nothing, but we have to wait and see.”
You never want to hear the words “indefinitely” when dealing with an injury, but especially that of a starting pitcher. As much as we’d all like to believe it’s “nothing,” the fact that the injury is presenting itself a day after his latest rehab start is no doubt concerning of a lingering issue.
While Whitlock's return is likely further away than anticipated, the Sox’s rotation did get a boost this past week with the return of Brayan Bello.
Bello took the mound for Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals, his second start since returning from the injured list with lat tightness. After pitching well enough to win (Cora deemed the outing “OK”) in last Sunday’s 3-2 win over Washington, allowing a pair of runs on four hits with two walks and one strikeout in five innings, Bello took a step backwards.
The young righty was bitten by the long ball early, serving up three home runs — and a season-high five runs total — on seven hits with four strikeouts in just 4 2/3 innings en route to Boston’s eventual 10-6 loss.
“It was a bad outing,” Bello said through a team interpreter. “The team did everything possible to score runs. They gave me some run support, but I was unable to make adjustments tonight and it was a bad outing for me.”
Bello credited his Friday struggles to not having a good feel on one of his primary pitches.
“The changeup wasn’t there today,” Bello said. “When I was trying to throw it to the dirt, it was staying middle. … The slider helped me out a little bit tonight, so I felt good about that pitch.”
Added Cora, “It was tough for him to get some swings and misses. Felt like it was the slider better than the changeup, but he ran through it, gave us five. I think if you look at the outing, the damage was done on the changeup.”
Two of Bello’s homers came on changeups, while the other came on a sinker. He threw an even 100 pitches (his second-most this season), 63 for strikes. And if it’s any consolation, he didn’t walk a batter for the first time since his Opening Day start in Seattle.
As I’ve written before, too much is being asked of Bello to be “the ace,” “the guy,” and the “No. 1 starter.” He simply isn’t there yet, and it’s going to take time and development. Bello has certainly shown spurts of progress, and he’s earned his spot in the rotation, but to treat him like your best pitcher is an unfair expectation for a kid in his third major league season.
Not having Whitlock back in the near future will only place more of the burden on Bello’s shoulders. It’s fair to wonder if at some point those lofty expectations will chip away at his confidence…
Bello’s got the makeup to be “the guy,” no doubt. But for now, he’s just one of five…
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.