Lucas Giolito threw the final outing of his rehab assignment on April 25 with the Worcester Red Sox. He went 4.2 innings and gave up three earned runs, and that was good enough for the Red Sox to decide that it'll soon be time to see Giolito in the majors again.
The righty was activated for his Red Sox debut against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 30. Brennan Bernardino was sent to the bereavement list as Boston's corresponding move.
Giolito, of course, has technically been on the team since January 2023 as the Red Sox's only major league free agent signing of the season, but he reported elbow discomfort in spring training that year and never made his team debut after undergoing an internal brace procedure. In essence, he basically fleeced Boston of $18 million and, to no one's surprise, exercised his $19 million player option for 2025.
"I feel ready to go. Finally hitting the five-inning mark was good so I feel ready to help contribute in whatever way possible," Giolito said after his April 20 outing, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
On April 22, Alex Cora confirmed that Giolito had an almost-exact landing date in the majors after last pitching on Oct. 1, 2023: "The plan is for him to rejoin us next week" after a scheduled Triple-A start this weekend.
Rehabbing @RedSox RHP Lucas Giolito fans 4 in 5 IP in his latest start with the @PortlandSeaDogs. pic.twitter.com/qhFsM9iG6Q
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 20, 2025
Alex Cora confirms Lucas Giolito's debut for the Red Sox next week against the Blue Jays or Twins
Giolito's $14 million vesting option for next season complicates his very near future; if he pitches less than 140 innings it'll turn into a club option for the Sox. The likelihood that Giolito pitches less than 140 innings is incredibly high given his late start, but however close he gets to that benchmark and the quality of those innings will determine whether or not he ends up back on the free agent market at the end of this season.
If his performance suffers coming back from a major surgery — which wouldn't be at all surprising — or, heaven forbid, he gets hurt again, letting him go would be a total no-brainer.
At this point, Giolito would be lucky if he gets 20 starts in, but even if it looks like he's going to fall short of the 140-inning goal, he needs to pitch well enough if he's going to have a shot with any team next year.
This Red Sox team really could be a playoff contender ready to make a deep postseason run by the end of the year. If Giolito can just hang on until then and help the Red Sox back into October, he might be able to breathe a little easier when the time comes to make a decision on his contract.