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Lucas Giolito Ready For Red Sox Debut After ‘rocky, Weird’ 16 Months Of ‘stealing Money’
BOSTON — Nearly 16 months after first agreeing to terms with the Red Sox, Lucas Giolito finally knows when he can expect to pitch for them.
The veteran righty, who missed all of 2024 after undergoing internal brace surgery on his elbow during spring training and had a hamstring strain delay the start of his 2025 campaign, is expected to make a final rehab appearance at Triple-A Worcester on Friday, then join the Red Sox’ rotation, likely next Thursday (May 1) in Toronto. When he toes the rubber at Rogers Centre, it’ll be the first time he does so in a major league game since Oct. 1, 2023 — marking the end of a long, unusual layoff for a pitcher who had previously established himself as one of the game’s top workhorses.
“Hopefully, (it’s) 1-2-3,” joked Giolito when asked what he expects the first inning back to be like. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m gonna cry or anything like that. It’s just getting back to work. Getting back to business.
“It’s a hard feeling to describe. It has been a long year-plus so I look forward to competing. It has been very rocky and very weird. I just look forward to being back in the normal routine and doing what I like to do.”
When Giolito signed with the Red Sox right before New Year’s Day in Dec. 2023, he was looking to prove himself after a bad season in which he switched teams twice and logged a 4.88 ERA and 5.27 FIP in 33 starts for the White Sox, Angels and Guardians. He was the prize of a quiet Red Sox’ offseason and essentially took the place of Chris Sale in the team’s rotation, inking what amounted to a one-year, $19 million deal that included a player option for 2024.
By mid-March, Giolito had blown out his elbow in a spring training start, presenting a worst-case scenario for a pitcher who had logged at least 160 innings in each of his last five big league seasons. He’d miss all of 2024 and, in a no-brainer, exercised his option for this season. Boston’s commitment grew to $38.5 million over two years.
“That’s one of the worst feelings, the feeling of stealing money,” Giolito said. “When I signed here, one of the things I talked to them about big-time was: ‘I’m coming over here, I love the pitching side, I love the ideas you guys have for me and I’d like to be more consistent and regain form. But one thing I will give you is that I’ll take the ball every five days and give you 100, 120 pitches, I don’t care, every five days.’ And then I blew out. It was a horrible feeling because it was the one thing I was really good at, staying healthy and staying on the field.
“Around the time it happened, I’m just meeting all these guys and trying to become part of the team. It’s like, ‘OK, well you’re done for the year.’ It sucked, watching games and feeling like a ghost."
Giolito progressed quickly late in the season because his procedure was much less invasive — and came with a much quicker recovery timeline — than Tommy John surgery. By January, he was bullish on his chances to be ready for Opening Day and the Red Sox seemed on board with it. Then, in the middle of a spring training in which he felt great, Giolito tweaked his hamstring on the first pitch he threw in a Grapefruit League game. In normal times, it would be something he’d be able to pitch through, so he was adamantly against slowing his buildup. But the Red Sox made it clear he wouldn’t start the season on time, further delaying his team debut.
Giolito cites learning how to be patient as one of the positives he can take away from his rehab journey. But the setback tested the limits of his newfound virtue.
“The timing was the worst,” he said. “There’s been a lot of bad timing. It’s just been frustrating. But I’m looking forward to coming out on the other side feeling good. You think you’re on a good track then, ‘Oh, this happened so we need to slow down.’ The hamstring, for sure, in spring training, when I felt like I was right there and ready. I made it such a goal to be ready for the beginning of the season. That was a big (setback).
“Between the pitching side and the medical side, they (the Red Sox) have the way they want to do things,” he added. “At the end of the day, we’re employees so you’ve got to do what they say. We tried to make our case and push as much as we can.”
Giolito’s build-up in minor league games — a setting he described as “not even close” to scratching the competitive itch he has missed so much — has been slow and at times, difficult. He owns a 4.97 ERA in 12 ⅔ innings over four innings, a number that can be attributed to rust and his desire to work on certain things rather than blatant ineffectiveness.
There’s another factor at play when it comes to the Red Sox’ desire to slow-play Giolito’s return, too. His contract included a complicated conditional option for 2026 which gave the team some protection if he dealt with an injury. If Giolito pitches fewer than 140 innings this year — now, close to a lock considering he’ll miss the first month — the Red Sox will hold an affordable $14 million club option over him for 2026. Two years after opting for a one-year deal to prove himself in his age-29 season in hopes of a big payday down the line, Giolito now won’t likely control his fate until after next season, when he hits free agency at 32. The injuries and contract complications could have cost Giolito, who three times received Cy Young votes as a member of the White Sox, a chance at a massive payday. But as he gets ready to pitch, that’s the last thing on his mind.
“I don’t think about it. Whatever happens... I don’t care about that anymore,” Giolito said. “It’s about getting back on the field, staying healthy and helping this team win games. That’s all I care about. And feeling good."
As Giolito noted, tears are unlikely to be shed when he finally does take the mound next week. But make no mistake about there being plenty of emotions bubbling when he does finally pitch with ‘Boston’ across his chest for the first time.
“I look forward to coming out and doing my part to help this club because it’s an extremely talented team,” Giolito said.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
