Barring any setbacks, Garrett Whitlock will rejoin the Red Sox and make his season debut early next week.

“There’s a good chance,” Alex Cora said.

Whitlock began the season on the injured list after a careful, measured spring training. He underwent season-ended hip surgery last September, so the Red Sox didn’t want to rush his preseason program. His first rehab start was Triple-A Worcester’s Opening Day last Friday, and he’s scheduled to start Double-A Portland’s season opener on Thursday.

The current plan is to move the 26-year-old right-hander to the starting rotation full-time. Since his hip surgery, he says he feels the best he’s felt since high school. Hopefully, that will translate to good results on the mound; his team needs that. Despite scoring 34 runs in their first five games (third-most in MLB), the Red Sox are 2-3 to start the season, in large part due to the rotation’s inability to limit runs, creating large deficits early in the contests.

A Rule 5 steal from the New York Yankees, Whitlock debuted with the Red Sox on April 4, 2021 and had a superb first season in the majors. Working exclusively out of the bullpen, he made 46 appearances, finished 11 games, and earned a pair of saves. Across 73 1/3 regular-season innings, he posted a 1.96 ERA, struck out 81 batters (27.2%), and issued 17 walks. He was better than league average at inducing weak contact, and only gave up six home runs all year.

He also made five postseason appearances that year, and held the formidable Yankees, Rays, and Astros lineups to two solo home runs and four hits.

As impressive as his rookie season was, Whitlock came up in the Yankees organization as a starter, and the Red Sox began transitioning him back into a rotation role in mid-April of last year.

Between April 23-June 7, the righty worked exclusively as a starter. He made nine starts, and posted a 4.15 ERA before going on the injured list with right hip inflammation, then returned to the bullpen after being activated.

By the end of his season, Whitlock had worked almost identical innings in the two roles, but with vastly different results. Over 39 innings as a starter, he allowed 18 earned runs, struck out 38 batters, and hitters slashed .261/.305/.418 against him. In 39 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, he gave up 12 earned runs, struck out 44, and held lineups to .179/.211/.336.

Whitlock is a key piece of the team’s present and future, as evidenced by the four-year, $18.75 million extension the Red Sox gave him barely a year after his debut, so it’s likely he’ll still be handled carefully when he rejoins the team.

Even so, his return to the roster can’t come soon enough.