The Boston Red Sox placed right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock on the 15-day injured list on Thursday because of left knee inflammation.
The move was retroactive to Monday. In a corresponding move, the Red Sox recalled rookie left-hander Tyler Samaniego from Triple-A Worcester.
Whitlock, the team’s top setup man to closer Aroldis Chapman, hyperextended his left knee in his most-recent game, a 6-5 home loss on Sunday to the Minnesota Twins in muddy conditions.
“First warmup pitch on Sunday, obviously, the conditions were super wet, I kind of slipped and hyperextended my knee and everything,” Whitlock said of when the injury occurred.
Whitlock, 29, allowed one run on two hits in one-third of an inning.
“Honestly, I got pretty sped-up just because it was on the very first (warmup) pitch, and then I was like, ‘Man, that didn’t feel good.’ And it was just kind of in my head,” Whitlock said. “And then I saw the clock going. I was like, ‘Oh, they didn’t stop it. I need to keep throwing.’ So yeah, I probably should have taken some time to be like, ‘All right, slow things down.’ But that’s part of it. You’re just trying to compete and everything. I’m never going to make excuses.”
Whitlock, who has missed three games including Thursday, took a pain-killing injection on Tuesday. He also underwent an MRI earlier this week.
“Luckily, no structural damage, like no ligament or anything like that,” Whitlock said. “So I’m just kind of trying to get everything out of it now.”
Whitlock is 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA, six walks and 25 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings over 20 relief appearances this season.
For his career, all with Boston since the 2021 season, Whitlock is 28-15 with 10 saves, a 3.13 ERA, 82 walks and 368 strikeouts in 333 1/3 innings over 185 regular-season games (23 starts).
Samaniego is 0-2 with a 1.04 ERA, seven walks and 13 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings over 18 relief appearances for Boston this season.
