With Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito these days, there’s good, bad, and awkward news to share.
Getting the bad stuff out of the way first, Giolito is out for the rest of the postseason. The 31-year-old has been Boston’s second-best starter in 2025, but the Red Sox will be without him in October. Giolito has an elbow injury that requires rest, but there’s no structural damage, per ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, who reported that Giolito saw a specialist on Tuesday.
“Giolito had already been ruled out for Boston's Wild Card series against the New York Yankees before visiting a doctor in Alabama on Tuesday,” Castillo wrote. “Giolito received relatively good news -- tests revealed no structural damage, so he won't need surgery.”
No surgery — that’s the good news in all of this, especially considering Giolito has had elbow surgery twice already in his career. Giolito had Tommy John surgery in 2012 and underwent the internal brace procedure in 2024. It caused Giolito to miss the entirety of last season. Ok, now onto the awkward news.
Lucas Giolito and the Red Sox might suddenly be looking ahead to an uncomfortable mutual option situation
Lucas Giolito called his elbow injury “devastating” because of the timing. There’s no structural damage in the UCL. He said it’s flexor irritation plus a bone issue that requires rest for a while.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) October 1, 2025
Boston isn’t thinking about Giolito at the moment. The Red Sox are in the middle of a critical three-game series with the New York Yankees, and with Giolito sidelined, Boston is concerned only with his immediate replacement, 23-year-old lefty Connelly Early.
That will all change quite soon, however, as Boston’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, will be staring at Giolito’s contract situation. The 31-year-old activated a $19 million mutual option ($1.5 million buyout) when he exceeded 140 innings pitched late in the 2025 regular season. Breslow would have been dealing with a cheaper, $14 million club option in 2026 for Giolito if the Red Sox had been able to limit his usage, but they desperately needed him in September to ensure a playoff berth.
A few weeks ago, before any elbow issues arose, Giolito was absolutely dealing. His 2025 performance (10-4, 3.41 ERA in 26 starts) had some people assuming that Giolito would opt out of his mutual option and seek a bigger paycheck elsewhere this winter.
Now, Giolito’s 2026 outlook has ironically been flipped on its head, as the right-hander’s elbow issues might give Breslow reason to decline Giolito’s mutual option, or at least consider doing so.
The Red Sox aren’t exactly drowning in starting pitching depth, but that could change this offseason, depending on how aggressive Breslow is, as well as the expected recovery timelines for guys like Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Richard Fitts.
Giolito and the Red Sox might end up having an awkward interaction in which the veteran pitcher opts in to a mutual option, only to see Boston back out.