Boston Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito will not be on the active roster for the American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees because of an elbow issue, manager Alex Cora said Monday.
The 31-year-old Giolito had been expected to start the third game of the best-of-three series on Thursday, following Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello in Boston’s rotation. Game 1 begins Tuesday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
“He’s been battling with his elbow the last few days,” Cora said. “… Hopefully it’s nothing major, but he won’t be ready for this [series].”
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Giolito, who is 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 26 starts this season, was sent to see Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, an orthopedic surgeon at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Alabama.
Cora said Giolito’s velocity has been down, and he had to cut his most recent bullpen session short.
Dugas repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Giolito’s right elbow with internal brace surgery on March 12 last year.
Giolito also had Tommy John surgery with Dr. Lewis Yocum on Sept. 13, 2012.
The Red Sox manager said Kyle Harrison and Connelly Early could be options for a Game 3, if needed.
An All-Star in 2019, Giolito is 71-66 with a 4.30 ERA in nine major league seasons with Washington (2016), the Chicago White Sox (2017-23), the Los Angeles Angels (2023), Cleveland (2023) and Boston (2025).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
