Red Sox Take Yankees RHP Garrett Whitlock In Rule 5 Draft
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox took a promising young arm from the Yankees on Thursday, selecting right-hander Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 Draft.
Whitlock, 24, was a Top-20 prospect in the New York system, but is coming off Tommy John surgery. He missed the second half of the 2019 season, but is expected to be ready for the 2021 season.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound righty made 14 starts for New York's Double-A team in Trenton, going 3-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He held batters to a .265 batting average against while striking out 57 over 70.1 innings.
Whitlock was initially drafted by the Yankees in the 18th round in 2017 out of Alabama-Birmingham. He is 12-8 with a 2.41 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 42 minor league outings.
Whitlock is now on Boston's 40-man roster, which stands at 39 players. The Red Sox will pay the Yankees $100,000 for the young righty, who has to remain on Boston's active major league roster throughout the 2021 season (minus injury time) or be offered back to the Yankees.
Whitlock posted video of himself letting it rip this summer after Tommy John. He should be good to go entering spring it would seem. The old Velazquez/Johnson role? pic.twitter.com/JSvONg3ZB5
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) December 10, 2020
Boston poached another arm from the Yankees' system later in the draft, taking righty Kaleb Ort with their second pick. They also selected first baseman Tyreque Reed from the Texas Rangers' Double-A Frisco roster.