Red Sox Star Hurler Reportedly Likely To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

Boston cannot afford a loss of this magnitude

Scott Neville | Mar 5, 2024

Red Sox Star Hurler Reportedly Likely To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's offseason has been filled with disappointment and shortcomings from a leadership group that overpromised and underdelivered.

The one moderate investment Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made was to right-hander Lucas Giolito following a season in which the rotation failed to deliver enough innings for the team to succeed.

As it turns out, we might not get to see the high-priced newcomer debut at any point in 2024.

"Brutal news: Initial imaging showed Boston Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito likely has a partially torn UCL and flexor strain and could miss the 2024 season," ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Tuesday. "Giolito, who signed a two-year deal with Boston, may need surgery to repair the right elbow damage."

It sounds likely that Giolito will be out for the year or at least miss significant time. There's a chance he can opt for an alternative to Tommy John surgery but he will be out for the long haul either way.

The 29-year-old was having a strong camp and was going to be relied upon to eat innings and post every fifth day -- he's made 94 starts over the last three seasons and is coming off an 184 1/3 inning campaign.

Instead, he'll do the exact opposite for Boston, leaving the pitching staff in really bad shape. Barring a meaningful external addition such as Jordan Montgomery or Michael Lorenzen, the Red Sox likely will have to use both Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck in the rotation.

As we've seen over the last few seasons, that duo is much more effective coming out of the bullpen.

Whitlock has not been nearly as dynamic as a starter and struggles to stay on the mound. Houck has not been able to maintain effectiveness deep into games. In other words, neither of them can give enough innings to put the team in a position to succeed.

It's not even Opening Day and the Red Sox's depth already is being tested. Boston was largely expected to finish in last place in the American League East for the third time in a row -- that feeling has intensified with the news of Giolito's injury.

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Published Mar 5, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu