Red Sox's $38.5 Million Starter Gives Candid Take On 'Frustrating' Injury Decision

Lucas Giolito's first spring training start didn't go as planned, and the Boston Red Sox have already made a decision regarding his Opening Day status.

After he was pulled following the first inning of his start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday with hamstring tightness, Giolito will begin the season on the injured list. Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced the decision on Thursday.

It's a tough pill to swallow for Giolito, who is entering the second and final year of a $38.5 million contract with the Red Sox. The 30-year-old missed the entire 2024 regular season after undergoing internal brace surgery on his right elbow.

However, the Red Sox are better prepared to handle the loss of Giolito than they would have been in years past, even with Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford also opening the season on the IL. Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester, two right-handers acquired in recent trades, will likely take over the number-four and five starter roles to open the season.

After the IL announcement was made, Giolito expressed his displeasure with the team's decision, saying he preferred to keep ramping up for his originally scheduled debut, which would have been the team's fifth game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles.

"Obviously it’s frustrating," Giolito said, per Rob Bradford of WEEI. "It’s not my decision. I don’t know. I went out and played catch today. Usually I don’t throw on my Day 1 so I didn’t throw yesterday. We were testing it. I went out and threw today and felt 100 percent fine. Completely asymptomatic.

"I was actually surprised at how good I felt. If I was in charge I would be like, ‘Let’s keep going. Let’s keep pitching.’ I don’t know what the return to play looks like. I’m just going to take it day by day and do what they tell me to do. That’s it."

This is a situation in which it's easy to see where both sides are coming from. Giolito wants to get back on the mound to prove his worth to the team that he hasn't been able to pitch for yet in the 15 months he's been there. But the Red Sox want to make sure he's fully healthy, plus this gives them an opportunity to evaluate both Priester and Fitts.

At the end of the day, it's good news if Giolito is even more prepared than the bare minimum he needed to be ready for game action. And the fact taht the Red Sox are built to weather the storm is a credit to Craig Breslow and the front office.

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