The 2026 season has been a rollercoaster of a ride for the Boston Red Sox. Their offense has been anemic at times, and their pitching has been wildly inconsistent. Of course, there’s always a few bright spots to highlight, including a particular duo in the bullpen.
The front office did little to mess with a (mostly) successful formula over the offseason, and the results have been mixed. There have been some disastrous outings (ahem, Greg Weissert), but the group has also been the most stable unit on the team thus far.
Specifically, Alex Cora has been able to turn to Jovani Morán and Garrett Whitlock when needed, and more often than not, they’ve come through for him. Of course, with anything in life, there are moments where a sure thing falters, but with the current state of the Red Sox’s bullpen, these two may be Cora’s most trusted relievers, save for Aroldis Chapman, who continues to handle the ninth inning during save opportunities.
Whitlock’s success is hardly surprising. In 2025, he was Cora’s best option out of the pen after struggling early in the season. By the end of the year he was lights out, tossing 72 innings and striking out 91 batters. So far in 2026, the strikeout numbers are even more impressive, as he’s punched out 35.3% of opposing hitters while only allowing five hits and two earned runs. The right-hander has kept batters at bay despite having a career high 14.7% walk rate. That’s thanks in part to holding opponents to a .172 batting average.
He’s especially succeeding terms of contact quality. Over half of the balls in play against him have been on the ground this year, and less than 30% of that contact has been of the hard variety. His sudden inability to get hitters to chase outside the zone has led to the aforementioned spike in his walk rate, but even this less-whiff-heavy version of Whitlock has proven capable of dominating.
As for Morán, the left-hander entered the season as a huge question mark, as he spent 2025 recovering from surgery. While he did make a cameo with Boston, Morán was not a certainty to make the Opening Day roster. And after winning one, he’s continued to excel out of the bullpen for Boston.
In six outings, Morán has provided length for the Red Sox, as he’s tossed 13 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs on five hits and six walks. He’s also struck out 15 batters thanks to his five-pitch arsenal (with three of them being his main pitches). Tossing a fastball, changeup, cutter, sweeper and curveball, Morán has been able to keep batters guessing and away from hard contact.
Entering the week, Moran ranks near the top of major league baseball (93rd percentile) in whiff rate at 36.8% and is in the 91st percentile when it comes to hard-hit rate at 26.7%, hence how he’s keeping opposing batters to a minuscule .111 batting average. His FIP is nearly two runs higher than his ERA (1.35) at 3.20, so it can be questioned if he’s been getting a little lucky so far in the season.
Then again, he’s still striking opposing batters out at a 29.4% rate, so whatever good fortune he’s getting is at least somewhat earned.
Having a closer as sturdy as Chapman is valuable for the most obvious reasons. It’s the bridge guys who have to keep games close in the middle and late innings that are often the unsung heroes of a win. The presence of Whitlock and Morán in the bullpen is a huge one as the team continues to navigate the loss of Justin Slaten and inconsistency from not just Weissert, but also Ryan Watson and Zack Kelly.
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