Lucas Giolito has had a stretch of rough luck since he joined the Boston Red Sox organization before the 2024 season.
The righty underwent the internal brace procedure before what he expected to be a rebound year for his career. He lost the entirety of last year to rehab, and despite his elbow being healed, he's still missing time. Giolito strained a hamstring in the first inning of his first spring training start with the Sox, and has been rehabbing ever since.
The righty was supposed to make his second rehab start with the Worcester Red Sox on April 8, but Massachusetts spring has other plans. Worcester's game against the Columbus Clippers has been postponed due to "extreme cold and wind," per a release from the team. The game will be made up as a single-admission doubleheader on April 9. Both games will be seven innings.
Worcester expects wind chills around 10 degrees at the game's original time, hardly ideal conditions for a rehabbing pitcher or attending fans. It's been a dreary week in the Boston area — the Red Sox had their April 5 afternoon tilt with the Cardinals postponed due to rain and they faced off with the Blue Jays cloaked by a chilly mist on April 7.
Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito's April 8 rehab start delayed by 'extreme cold and wind'
WooSox Postponed Tonight (Tuesday) Due to Extreme Cold https://t.co/ZF4fFI4X4E via @MiLB
— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox) April 8, 2025
The shortened, seven-inning outings shouldn't impact Giolito much. He only pitched 2.1 innings in his first rehab start on April 2, and he still has quite a bit of ramping up to do before he's ready to join the big league roster. He likely has at least two more rehab outings in his future before the Red Sox bring him up to the majors.
Hopefully, the one-day delay doesn't set Giolito's progress back too much. The Red Sox's starting rotation hasn't looked great to start the season and it could use some experienced arms to stay on track. Boston's starters have pitched to a 4.41 ERA in their first 11 games. Garrett Crochet, a former teammate of Giolito's, has lived up to his "ace" title with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings and an eight-frame shutout already under his belt, but he's the only starter limiting runs so far.
Giolito hopes to rebound with the Sox this year after a rough 2023 season between three different teams. He pitched to a 4.88 ERA over 184.1 innings and was even placed on waivers by the Angels after being traded there before the deadline. His rebound campaign will have to wait at least one more day, though, thanks to brutal weather at the aptly named Polar Park.