TAMPA, Fla.—Boston Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito is expected to miss this season after having his right ulnar collateral ligament repaired with an internal brace.
Dr. Jeffrey R. Dugas operated Tuesday at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Giolito was able to avoid ligament-replacement surgery, which he had on Aug. 31, 2012, with Dr. Lewis Yocum, less than two months after the Washington Nationals made Giolito their top pick in the 2012 amateur draft.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before Wednesday’s spring-training game against the New York Yankees that he doesn’t think Giolito will take the mound again in 2024. Recovery from the internal-brace surgery, which uses an artificial material to make the repair, has allowed pitchers to return to the major leagues in as little as nine months. Tommy John surgery, which uses a tendon from elsewhere in the body to replace the torn ligament, has a usual rehab period of 12 to 18 months.
“So go through the process and hopefully he gets back sooner rather than later, you know, whenever that is, but I do believe it was like the best-case scenario,” Mr. Cora said. “Seeing what has happened with this procedure in the past, he’s going to be able to go out there and throw his changeup and his good fastball and help the Red Sox win some more games.”
Giolito, a Southern California native who attended Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles and pitched briefly for the Angels last season, signed a $38.5 million, two-year deal with the Red Sox in January. He turns 30 in July.
He made two spring-training starts. He threw two scoreless innings in his first outing on Feb. 25 against Minnesota, then reported discomfort in the elbow while allowing four runs and three walks in 2 1/3 innings against the Twins on March 1.
Giolito reached the major leagues in 2016 with Washington. He was an All-Star in 2019 while pitching for the Chicago White Sox and has been reliable during his big-league career, throwing at least 160 innings in five of the past six seasons. He is 61–62 with a 4.43 ERA in 178 starts and two relief appearances.
Tests on outfielder Rob Refsynder, meanwhile, confirmed that he has fractured left pinky toe, the result of being hit by a pitch on Tuesday.
“It’s a tough one, however, hopefully it’s four to six weeks or whatever it is,” Mr. Cora said. “So now it’s just a matter of being patient.”
