Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito is dealing with an elbow issue and will not be included on Boston’s roster for their Wild Card Series showdown with archrival Yankees manager Alex Cora told reporters at today’s press session (link via Christopher Smith of MassLive.com). Cora did not provide a specific diagnosis or indicate whether Giolito would be available in later rounds, should the Red Sox advance. Giolito would have been Boston’s starter for a potential Game 3 of the series. He will see a specialist today, Sean McAdam of MassLive adds.
Giolito, 31, missed the entire 2024 season due to UCL surgery, but returned with a bang in 2025, shooting 145 frames of 3.41 ball ERA. This figure is a little inflated by a poor start to the season; as of June 10, he made 19 starts with a 2.51 ERA. Giolito’s 19.7% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate contributed to more lukewarm evaluations of metrics like FIP (4.17) and SIERA (4.66), but his final results were unequivocally strong, even if their durability merited some skepticism.
After reaching 140 innings pitched this season, Giolito triggered a vesting clause in his $14 million club option that converted it to a $19 million mutual option. When he reached that threshold, it seemed almost certain that the right-hander would decline his part of the mutual option and re-enter the market. Suddenly, the health of his elbow clouded that decision. If the issue is serious, the Red Sox will surely decline his commitment and send Giolito to free agency anyway, but he will return to the open market under very different circumstances than seemed likely just a week ago.
Giolito experienced a noticeable drop in speed in September. After averaging 93.4 mph on his heater over the first five months of the season, he has averaged 92.5 mph on his four-seamer over his last five appearances, including a low of 92.1 mph in his last appearance. He still posted a 3.16 ERA over 25 2/3 innings in those outings, but he also issued 18 walks. On the surface, that could have been attributed to fatigue from a pitcher who didn’t throw a single inning in 24 but was pushing toward 150 frames in the stretch run — but news of a possible elbow injury now makes this late slide all the more concerning.
The Red Sox are expected to have more information on Giolito’s status later this week, once he meets with that specialist and discusses any findings with team executives. This will determine his availability – or lack thereof – for potential appearances in the ALDS, ALCS or World Series, depending on Boston’s progress in the postseason. For the series in question, Giolito’s elbow issue likely pushes one of the team’s promising young southpaws, like Connelly early Or Kyle Harrisonin this start of match 3. Best prospect Payton Tolle was moved to the bullpen in early September and thus hasn’t pitched more than three innings in an outing since September 29, so he’s unlikely to get the nod.
