Giolito dealing with elbow issue, will miss Wild Card Series

NEW YORK -- On the eve of their AL Wild Card Series against the Yankees, the Red Sox revealed the surprising news that No. 3 starter Lucas Giolito won’t be on the roster this round due to discomfort in his right elbow.

While ace Garrett Crochet will take the ball in Game 1 on Tuesday, followed by Brayan Bello in Game 2 on Wednesday, it was assumed that Giolito would be on the mound for a decisive Game 3 on Thursday.

“He's been battling with his elbow the last few days, and today he went to see Dr. [Jeffrey] Dugas [in Birmingham, Ala.],” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Hopefully it's nothing major, but he won't be ready for this one.”

If the series goes the distance, lefty Connelly Early (Boston’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline) would seem to be the most likely candidate to start in place of Giolito. Kyle Harrison, the lefty Boston acquired as part of the compensation from the Giants for Rafael Devers on June 15, could also be in the mix.

“I think it kind of came on fairly gradually in that he just felt kind of fatigued and wasn’t recovering quite as well,” said Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “At first, it didn’t really raise a ton of alarm with the medical staff. We felt pretty confident he would be ready, but then just kind of gradually, the symptoms got worse and worse to the point that it obviously has become an issue.”

How big of an issue remains to be seen. Breslow didn’t rule out Giolito for future postseason rounds should the Red Sox advance.

“I think at this point, we’re just still kind of collecting information and figuring it out, and we’ll make a decision from there,” said Breslow.

The 31-year-old Giolito, who missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing right UCL surgery that March, has been one of the best comeback stories for the Red Sox this season.

In 26 starts covering 145 innings, Giolito went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA, striking out 121 and posting a 1.29 WHIP.

“I think at this point, you feel for Gio given all that he’s been through the last couple of years and everything he did to put himself in a position to help our team in the way he has all season,” Breslow said. “I think on a personal level, you just feel for a guy who did everything possible he could to help the team, and he’d love nothing more than to be able to help the team in the postseason.”

Giolito’s final regular-season start was last Tuesday against the Blue Jays, when he allowed one run and fanned three across 4 2/3 innings. Giolito joined the Red Sox on a two-year, $38.5 million deal prior to the 2024 campaign. His deal also included a $14 million club option for 2026 that turned into a $19 million mutual option when he reached 140 innings in 2025.

The Red Sox have dealt with several key injuries already this season, including losing Alex Bregman for seven weeks due to a severe right quad strain and the left oblique strain that still has star rookie Roman Anthony out indefinitely.

Now, they will try to overcome this latest bit of adversity.

“I think that we're all thinking about Lucas,” said Crochet. “There's never a good time for it, but this is a tough time for it. It's a big blow. He's a great arm, and I think that he strikes fear in opposing lineups. We'll be missing him. He'll be in the dugout with us, though. He's a great teammate and a guy that has a lot of experience. I think that his mind will lend us a helping hand.”