Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito will start the 2025 MLB campaign on the injured list due to a left hamstring injury the club announced Thursday.
Giolito departed Tuesday’s spring training outing against Philadelphia with some discomfort in his leg, with manager Alex Cora ultimately telling reporters that he would need some additional time to return to full health.
“First pitch of the game,” Giolito told reporters. “Felt a little tight in my hamstring. I knew it wasn’t bad, so I just adjusted my front-leg mechanics a little bit just to get through and compete through the inning. It wasn’t pretty, obviously. It felt good to be back out there competing. We’ll just assess and do whatever those guys say over there and it shouldn’t be bad.”
“I’ve pulled my hamstring before in my career a few times and this feels very minor,” Giolito continued. “That’s basically what they were saying as well, the initial testing was really strong. Just an annoying little setback, I guess.”
Although the righty was able to touch 94mph on the radar gun, it was difficult to determine how his “stuff” looked on the mound due to the injury. The timing is less than ideal for Red Sox fans, as Giolito’s injury comes on the heels of RHP Brayan Bello having a minor setback, which will keep him out of the Opening Day lineup as well.
Bello served as the club’s Opening Day starter in 2024, but has been battling shoulder issues this spring. Rather than try to rush either of their starters back, the club is taking a cautious approach with Giolito and Bello alike.
Despite signing a 2 year contract worth $38.5M last offseason, Giolito has yet to pitch for the Red Sox as he recovered from a UCL injury which forced him to miss the 2024 season. Both Bello and Giolito will join fellow hurler Kutter Crawford on the bench for the time being as Boston’s starting rotation appears to currently be in flux as the injuries continue to pile up.
The Red Sox continue their spring training schedule Thursday against the New York Mets, before kicking off their regular season against the Texas Rangers on March 27th.
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