The Boston Red Sox have signed right-hander Garrett Whitlock on a four-year contract extension, the team announced Sunday.
Whitlock will be guaranteed a total of $18.75 million from 2023 to 2026, a source told ESPN. The deal also includes club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, with the source saying Whitlock would earn $8.25 million in 2027 and $10.5 million in 2028 if the options are picked up. The Red Sox could pay a $1 million buyout before 2027 or a $500,000 buyout before 2028, the source said.
After moving up to the majors with the Red Sox last season, Whitlock remains eligible for Major League Baseball’s new $50 million bonus pool for players eligible before arbitration. He could earn bonuses based on innings pitched, awards and whether he serves as a starting pitcher or assist, earning up to $44.5 million over the life of the contract, the source said.
The 25-year-old had last month agreed to a one-year deal that paid $720,000 in the big leagues and $285,250 in the minors.
“We hope we’re just scratching the surface of what he can achieve,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said. “The fact that you give him the ball and he comes out until you take it away from him, he’s said a couple of times, that’s perfect.”
Whitlock played 46 games for the Red Sox in his rookie season, going 8-4 with a 1.96 ERA and recording two saves. On his 2022 debut on Friday, he pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed a home run with a botched save during Boston’s 6-5 extra-inning loss to the New York Yankees. Bloom said the sides approved the deal hours before the season opener in Boston.
Among 30 rookies who pitched at least 70 innings last year, Whitlock ranked first in ERA, second in WHIP with a 1.10, and third in Ops Ops with a .631.
He began his professional career in the Yankees organization before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019 and being selected by the Red Sox in the 2020 Rule 5 draft.
When the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic, he coached a travel ball team and did landscaping work to make ends meet back home in Alabama. The Yankees left him exposed for the winter meeting draft the next offseason, and Boston took a chance with him.
“Last year when they put me in the Rule 5 draft, it was an honor just because they gave me a chance, all that,” Whitlock said. “I just want to work my cock off.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.