Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Announce Stunning Roster Update Just Before Yankees Series

Well... what now?
Jackson Roberts|
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
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

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Boston Red Sox

As postseason roster updates go, the Boston Red Sox announced a pretty serious shocker on Monday.

After the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday, the Red Sox had a quick turnaround to get ready for the best-of-three series against the New York Yankees beginning on Tuesday. However, they appeared to have their starting pitching all set up to face their arch-rivals.

Instead, Boston manager Alex Cora announced on Monday that Lucas Giolito, one of the three most reliable starters they've had all season, won't be available for the series at all.

Lucas Giolito off Wild Card roster with elbow issue

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

MassLive's Christopher Smith was among the first to report that Giolito would miss the Wild Card Series with an elbow issue. Boston already announced Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello as the starters for Games 1 and 2.

“Lucas is not going to be on the roster,” Cora announced Monday, per Smith and Sean McAdam of MassLive. “He has been battling with his elbow the last few days. Today, he went to see Dr. (Jeffrey) Dugas. Hopefully, it’s nothing major, but he won’t be ready for this one.”

That leaves lefties Connelly Early and Kyle Harrison, who were both called up from Triple-A in September and have a combined six starts for the Red Sox, as the team's primary options to start Game 3, should the series make it that far.

Giolito, 31, had a bounce-back season after signing with the Red Sox in December of 2023 and missing all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. In 26 starts, he went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA, striking out 121 batters in 145 innings.

Because he crossed the 140-inning threshold, Giolito also converted a $14 million club option into a $19 million mutual option for next season, making it likely that he enters free agency.

The Red Sox can worry about whether or not to re-sign Giolito at a later date, because in the interim, they've got to figure out how to replace him during a playoff run. It's a surprising and painful loss, but this team has been managing blow after blow all season.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Boston Red Sox On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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