FORT MYERS, Fla. – When the Red Sox signed righty Lucas Giolito as their top free agent in the offseason, the hope was that he would lead the team in innings pitched while also being one of the best comeback stories in MLB.
The optimism that accompanied Giolito's acquisition in December was seriously threatened when Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced Tuesday that the 29-year-old was dealing with right elbow discomfort.
It's far from certain that Giolito will begin the season on the injured list and miss a significant amount of time beyond that.
From the way Cora, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and Giolito spoke, it was clear that no one viewed this as a short-term injury.
“Yes, extremely disappointing,” Giolito said. “I've always prided myself on posting and staying healthy. You know, I did everything in my power to make this happen. So I haven't had a serious injury in a very long time [it] Definitely sucks.”
While Giolito has already had an MRI, the Red Sox are still in the process of evaluating the results of a series of tests he underwent by the team's medical staff.
“I think whenever you go through this process, I think it’s wise to be a little more moderate,” Breslow said. “You know, I feel like this is a real injury. Beyond that, I don’t think it makes sense to speculate and I certainly don’t want to create unfair or unreasonable expectations.”
Giolito said he felt discomfort in his elbow during his last Grapefruit League start on March 1 against the Twins. In that outing, Giolito didn't look like himself as he gave up two hits, four runs and three walks while throwing 48 pitches in 2 1/3 innings.
Cora said the Red Sox will have another update on Giolito by the end of the week.
“Of course we are worried about it. “Obviously he’s going to miss some time,” Cora said. “We don’t know how long yet. We’re still gathering information, but obviously it’s not a good day for us.”
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported On Tuesday morning, initial tests showed that Giolito “likely has a partial ACL and flexor muscle tear,” which could put his 2024 season in doubt.
The Red Sox have neither confirmed nor denied the report, only repeatedly stating that they are still in the information gathering phase. It's possible that Giolito will seek a second opinion.
“Yes, we are still putting the pieces together in virtually real time,” Breslow said. “I can say for sure that he was uncomfortable in his last start. Medical is working on their process. And I think we’re still trying to put all the pieces together and gather the information.”
While the Red Sox are methodical about making sure they find the right approach, Giolito was clearly dejected. He had high hopes of bouncing back after a few poor seasons and becoming the top player he was from 2019 to 2021.
Now he just wants to be able to pitch.
“It’s pretty unfortunate,” Giolito said. “I choose my words carefully. I don’t want to swear and stuff, but yeah, it’s obviously not fun to deal with.”
Losing Giolito for an extended period of time is significant considering that the rotation itself with him was probably the biggest question mark on the team.
Could the Red Sox be more aggressive with an outside signing still on the free-agent market like Jordan Montgomery, with whom the club has been loosely linked for weeks? Or will they double down on their goal of helping their mid-20 pitchers take the next step in their careers?
“I think it's become clear over the last few weeks that there are a number of guys in our camp who seem ready to take a step forward,” Breslow said. “And I think that’s a credit to the work they’ve done and a credit to the pitching infrastructure and the work they’ve done [pitching coach Andrew Bailey’s] Completed. We also pointed out that if there was an opportunity to improve the team through an external acquisition, we would have to be responsible to seek that out too. So I think that’s where we are right now.”
Nick Pivetta would be the only veteran in the rotation that doesn't include Giolito. The Red Sox are counting on their mid-20s pitching core (Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Josh Winckowski) to take a step forward together this season. Cooper Criswell, a swingman the Sox signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, is another pitcher the team is developing.
“I think this is tough for us and tough for Lucas,” Breslow said. “He's a guy who takes a lot of pride in his ability to post, and that was definitely attractive to us. Of course we don't want to talk until we know exactly what we're dealing with. But I know he’s frustrated and wants to take over the ball on Opening Day, so we’ll evaluate where we are and figure out what the best path forward is.”