It was a triumphant return to the pitching mound this season for Lucas Giolito, who was the team’s biggest pitching signing of 2024 and promptly injured his elbow, requiring UCL surgery, in spring training that year. But in 2025, the Red Sox got more than what they could have hoped for from Giolito, a 10-4 season in which he posted a 3.44 ERA and a 1.290 WHIP.
He had a WAR of 2.1, which was his best rating since 2021.
That made the return of his elbow problems late in September all the more troubling. Not only was Giolito concerned about how he was pitching, but he was concerned that the UCL issue was back. When the Red Sox ruled him out for the wild-card series, and then for all of the playoffs, Giolito was, naturally, concerned.
Lucas Giolito: ‘It’s Been Devastating’
He told reporters: “I feel like I haven’t really processed it; it’s happened very fast. It’s obviously been devastating. Going through what happened last year, grinding back, and then being able to help this team be in the position that we’re in here now, like I said, there was no other thought in my mind than to continue to do what I was doing in the postseason. So to have that kind of thing ripped away from you, it’s a tough one to deal with.”
After a trip to Fort Myers and a look from orthopedic Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, the outlook for Giolito was positive. The elbow injury should go away, but apparently not in October.
“In layman’s terms, my flexor is very irritated and — this is hard to be to describe — but there’s weird stuff going on with my bone,” Giolito said. “I was told, ‘You’ve got to stop throwing and let it calm down. … The good news is that structurally, everything was checked out and good, which was a small relief in a very unfortunate situation … Any time a pitcher injures their elbow, that’s the worst fear. For that to be confirmed that it’s not the case, it was a big relief.”
Red Sox Got Star Stretch From Giolito
After a stellar run of seven starts from July 29 through August 31, during which Giolito was 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA. he hit a wall in September. He was 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in the month, and felt like he might be able to pitch through the pain.
In fact, he wanted to. But ultimately, discretion proved the better part of valor.
“There was no other thought in my mind than to grind through and be available to throw as many quality innings as possible,” he said. “Once it got to a point where it really started affecting throwing, that’s when we had to address it …
“I’ve been doing this for so long that you get used to things. I wouldn’t say I was necessarily feeling any particular pain; I just felt like I was grinding. And then it kind of got worse later.”
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