On Thursday, Garrett Whitlock will take a huge step toward what he hopes will be a comeback season in 2025.

The Red Sox right-hander told the Herald he’s been cleared to begin throwing, something he hasn’t done since mid-May, when he made an impressive rehab start for Triple-A, only to wake feeling discomfort in his elbow. By month’s end, he was on the operating table, undergoing season-ending internal brace surgery for what his doctor described as a ‘fluke’ injury.

Whitlock will begin throwing from 45 feet. The program is not unlike how he ramps up for spring training, though in a healthy offseason he wouldn’t get started until about two months before the mid-February report date.

Barring setbacks, the current timetable will enable the righty to hit the ground running in spring training and have a normal start to next season.

Whether that’s as a member of the rotation or bullpen has yet to be determined, though Whitlock has seen more success in the latter role. He owns a 2.65 ERA and 1.048 WHIP over 80 career relief appearances (132 ⅔ innings), compared to a 4.29 ERA and 1.266 WHIP over 23 starts (109 IP).

But the statistic that matters most to Whitlock is availability, and he’s yet to reach 80 innings in any of his four Major League seasons. Since the Red Sox began trying to use him as a starter in April ‘22 – he started and made relief appearances that year and in ‘23 – he’s dealt with a variety of injuries.

Moving forward, he wants to pitch in whichever role enables him to stay healthy and contribute to his team.