Lucas

Giolito

Giolito had an elbow injury pop up at the end of the regular season and wasn’t able to pitch for the Red Sox in the postseason, but the 31-year-old claims that “it was like the most benign, weird, freak injury that went away after a few days.” Giolito claims that he was ready to start throwing again as soon as the Red Sox got eliminated by the Yankees. He has made it clear that he would love to return to Boston, and the Red Sox could certainly use him in their rotation, but this could also be the last multi-year contract that Giolito will sign, so he is likely to test the free agent waters and prove to teams that he’s ready to go. “I’m happy to prove that I’m fully healthy in any way possible. Obviously, when you sign with a team, you have to pass a physical. So, there you go.”

The Red Sox will now have to decide whether to make him a $22.025 million qualifying offer. Giolito probably would decline that unless he’s more concerned about his elbow than was indicated at the end of the season. The 31-year-old went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts for the Red Sox after returning from Tommy John surgery last season.

One league source described Giolito as “100%" as he recovers from soreness in his elbow that ended his season prematurely in late September. The Red Sox have a decision to make on whether to offer Giolito a qualifying offer this winter, a decision that will be influenced heavily by the reports that they get on his health. It does sound like the Red Sox are leaning towards making that offer and do appear to have interest in bringing the 31-year-old hurler back in 2026, even if he rejects the offer and hits the open market.

It sounds like Giolito’s latest elbow issue isn’t going to require additional surgery, so that’s good. Giolito appeared to finish the season healthy before the news came down Monday that he wouldn’t start Game 3 against the Yankees. Connolly Early is now the favorite to get the nod then, if needed. With no word yet on the exact injury for Giolito, it’s hard to say if he might be more inclined to pick up his half of a $19 million mutual option. Pre-injury, he almost certainly would have declined it and sought a multiyear deal in free agency.

This is a brutal blow for the Red Sox. Giolito had been tremendous for Boston this season with a 3.41 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 121/56 K/BB ratio in 145 innings. However, his command had seemed to leave him in his last two starts, walking nine in nine innings while allowing five runs on eight hits. Perhaps his elbow issue had something to do with it. Red Sox manager Alex Cora seemed to imply that the injury might not be anything major, “but he won’t be ready for this one.” The Red Sox seem likely to go with Brayan Bello to start Game 2 and rookie Connelly Early to start Game 3, if needed.

Sunday is Lucas Giolito’s turn, but with the Red Sox nearly assured of a Wild Card spot at this point, he could either be skipped or just pitch a couple of innings if he’d prefer to stay sharp.

Giolito’s fastball velocity was 1.2 mph off his season average tonight and he walked four, but he grinded through it. He got some help in the second, when George Springer’s grounder down the third base line with the bases loaded was ruled foul, though it appeared to go over the corner of the bag. Springer was then called out on a 2-2 slider that was clearly outside. Still, even if those things hadn’t gone Giolito’s way, any runs would have been unearned because an error extended the inning. Giolito is slated to pitch again Sunday, though that could change if the Red Sox clinch a spot.

Giolito eclipsed the 140-inning mark in this outing, which automatically converts his $14 million club option for 2026 into a $19 million mutual option and virtually guarantees that he’ll become a free agent this upcoming offseason. The 31-year-old righty struggled mightily with his control, handing out five free passes, while finishing with five strikeouts. He dodged traffic on the basepaths throughout this one but didn’t get burned until reliever Justin Wilson allowed three inherited runners to cross the plate following his departure. He’s in line to face the Blue Jays on Tuesday in his next outing.

Giolito gave up five hits, walked one and struck out six. The 31-year-old right-hander has struck out at least six batters in three of his last four starts. Giolito has quietly had a good season with a 3.31 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 136 innings this year. He’s lined up to face the Athletics at home next week.

The 31-year-old hurler walked three batters on the night while recording a pair of strikeouts. The Diamondbacks got to him for three runs in the second inning — two of them unearned thanks to an error by Trevor Story. He then allowed a two-out RBI single to Jake McCarthy in the fourth inning. Giolito got five whiffs on 94 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 22 percent. He’ll bring a terrific 3.38 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and a 107/46 K/BB ratio (130 1/3 innings) into Friday’s showdown against the Yankees.