Red Sox Announce Back-Breaking Lucas Giolito Update

The Boston Red Sox are going to begin their Wild Card series against the New York Yankees in just a few hours and will do so without Lucas Giolito on the roster.

It was announced on Monday that he would miss the series due to an elbow issue. Boston officially announced its Wild Card round roster on Tuesday and he obviously was not on it. On Tuesday afternoon, though, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that the current expectation is that he will not be able to pitch in October in general and that his season is over.

“It seems like it’s not as bad as we thought in the beginning, but we’re still gathering information,” Cora said as transcribed by MassLive.com's Christopher Smith. “Hopefully it’s just rest. But obviously it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be able to pitch in October.”

The Boston Red Sox made an announcement

Sep 17, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (54) is relieved of pitching duties during the fifth inning against the Athletics at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

"It’s tough. He was one of the best we had. He threw the ball extremely well. Makes me wonder how banged up he was lately, especially with the velo (being down) and command. It seems like he wasn’t on point for a while there. But we’ve got other guys that are capable and we just gotta continue. Just another obstacle in our journey. But here we are and we gotta go.”

Now, that's probably not what you wanted to see today. Giolito was integral for the Red Sox this season, especially as injuries popped up and decimated the rotation elsewhere. Giolito was a key cog that gave the Red Sox a chance to win each time he stepped on the rubber. Giolito made 26 starts this season and logged a 3.41 ERA over that stretch, his best mark since logging a 3.41 ERA back in 2019 in his lone All-Star season. Giolito pitched 145 innings throughout the regular season and finished the campaign with a 121-to-56 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

All in all, this is a big loss for Boston. The Red Sox are about to begin a three-game series against the New York Yankees. Garrett Crochet will get the ball Game 1 and Brayan Bello will get the ball Game 2. If there's a Game 3, it will likely be either Connelly Early or Kyle Harrison taking the mound. If the Red Sox can advance to the longer series, the pitching becomes an even bigger question. All in all, not the update Boston fans were likely hoping for with the club's first playoff appearance since 2021 about to begin.

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