Lucas Giolito expected to miss 2024 season after undergoing successful procedure on right elbow

BOSTON -- Red Sox starter Lucas Giolito is expected to miss the 2024 season, but it could be worse for Boston. The team announced Wednesday that Giolito underwent a procedure to repair the UCL in his right elbow, rather than undergoing a full reconstruction with Tommy John surgery.

The internal brace procedure that Giolito underwent on Tuesday carries a recovery period of about nine months, which should allow him to have a full offseason and return for the 2025 season. Tommy John surgery would have likely sidelined the 29-year-old for 12-to-18 months, eating into his 2025 campaign.

Giolito was an All-Star in 2019 and has been an innings-eater for most of his career, which is what Boston was hoping for when chief baseball officer Craig Breslow signed him this offseason. Boston gave Giolito to a two-year, $38.5 million deal in December, with an option year for the 2026 season. He had an opt-out after 2024, but it's pretty unlikely Giolito will turn down a $19 million salary for 2-2025 coming off a lost season. That means the Red Sox will essentially be paying him the $38.5 million for to pitch the 2025 season.

In the meantime, the Red Sox will have to roll with a rotation that looks a lot like the one that struggled throughout the 2023 season. After losing their big offseason splash in Giolito, the Red Sox will turn to Brayan Bello (fresh off a six-year extension) as the team's ace, followed by Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Garrett Whitlock in the rotation.