Boston righty Giolito could miss all season with partially torn UCL
Boston Red Sox righthander Lucas Giolito could miss the 2024 season after initial imaging revealed a partially torn UCL and flexor strain in his pitching elbow, ESPN reported Tuesday.
If Giolito requires surgery as opposed to extensive rehab, he’s likely to miss up to 10 months.
The news is a major blow to the Red Sox, who signed the former Chicago White Sox ace to address their starting pitching depth. He signed a a two-year contract worth $38.5 million.
Giolito, 29, became a free agent after spending time with the White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland in 2023.
Giolito produced a cumulative 8-15 record with a 4.88 ERA in 33 starts last season. He allowed 41 home runs, the second-highest total in the majors, but struck out 204 batters over 1841⁄3 innings.
Giolito was an All-Star in 2019 and received American League Cy Young Award votes in three straight seasons (2019-21).
While with the White Sox, Giolito tossed a no-hitter in 2020 against Pittsburgh.
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Giants manager says to stand for anthem: The new San Francisco manager, Bob Melvin, is requiring his entire team — from the bullpen coaches, to the non-roster invitees, to the batboys and the trainers — to stand on the field for the national anthem.
He said the mandate is not political but that it is “all about the perception that we’re out there ready to play. That’s it. You want your team ready to play and I want the other team to notice it, too.”
Melvin told reporters that he had the same rule while managing in Oakland and San Diego.
In 2020, then-manager
Gabe Kapler of the Giants took a knee during the anthem for several games after the George Floyd killing. Following the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting, Kapler made the decision to regularly stop standing on the field during the anthem.
Current Giants outfielders Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski were among those to take a knee following the Floyd killing but don’t seem to be offended by Melvin’s policy.
Slater told The Athletic that it “sets the example of, ‘Hey, we’re in this together.’”
Braves: Reigning National League MVP
Ronald Acuna Jr. is expected to be in Atlanta’s lineup for Opening Day following testing on his sore right knee.
No serious issues were discovered but the
Braves said Tuesday that “irritation in the meniscus” was the cause of the knee discomfort according to Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who examined Acuna in Los Angeles on Monday.
Acuna, 26, was approved for gradual ramping up of baseball activities with a target of being ready for the opener March 28 at Philadelphia.
He tweaked the knee in a rundown during a spring training game with Minnesota last week.
ElAttrache is the surgeon who repaired Acuna’s right knee following a season-ending injury in 2021.
The first player in MLB history to accomplish a 40-home run, 70-steal season, Acuna has 161 home runs and 180 steals since making his debut with the Braves in 2018. He’s a four-time All-Star and was the unanimous NL MVP in 2023.
Astros: Right-hander
Justin Verlander, 41, will open the season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
“He’s doing very well, but we’re just running out of days here, and we won’t be able to build him up enough to start the season,” manager
Joe Espada said.
Verlander announced last month that he was a “couple weeks behind schedule” after experiencing discomfort in his pitching shoulder when full squad workouts began Feb. 14.
He finished 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA while splitting the 2023 season between the New York Mets and Astros.
Cardinals: Sonny Gray, pegged to be the ace of the staff, was pulled from Monday’s start after five batters because of what the team called right hamstring tightness.
Ex-Pirates catcher dies: Ed Ott, the catcher and clubhouse leader for the World Series-winning Pittsburgh Pirates in
1979, died at 72 in Danville, Pa. No cause of death was given.
Ott, a native of Muncy, Pa., played eight seasons in the majors, the first seven with the Pirates and the last with the California Angels in 1981. He had a .259 career batting average, with 33 home runs and 195 RBI.
In 1979, he hit .273 with seven home runs and 51 RBI as the Pirates won the NL East, swept West champion Cincinnati in three games in the NL Championship Series and beat Baltimore in a seven-game World Series. Ott hit .333 in the World Series.