Red Sox starter Giolito avoids more severe Tommy John
The Red Sox announced Wednesday that Lucas Giolito underwent successful right elbow ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) repair with an internal brace.
Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedics Center in Birmingham, Ala., performed the surgery on Tuesday after evaluating Giolito, 29. The righthander had felt discomfort in his elbow during his Mar. 1 start, and was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear and flexor strain late last week.
It’s both good and bad news for the right-hander and his team. The procedure is a newer alternative to Tommy John surgery, which is a full reconstruction of the UCL. Internal brace carries a significantly shorter recovery timetable. Rather than looking at a 12-18-month road back to the mound, there is a small chance that Giolito could return at the end of the upcoming season.
However, it’s more likely that he’ll make his Red Sox debut in 2025. When Trevor Story had the internal brace in January ’23, he didn’t make his season debut until Aug. 8. Giolito will likely require more time to recover, as pitchers put more strain on their throwing arms than position players.
The Red Sox signed Giolito to a two-year deal worth $38.5 million in early January, hoping to add a durable arm to a starting rotation that’s been wrecked by injury after injury over the last half-decade. Between his first full season in the Majors in ’18 and last year, the righty averaged 28 starts and 158 innings per season.
Casas homers in win over Yankees:
Triston Casas had a big day at the plate, clubbing his first home run of the spring while helping key a big seventh-inning rally as the Red Sox surged past the New York Yankees 9-4 on Wednesday afternoon.
Casas’ homer was a solo shot in the top of the fourth off Yankees starter Carlos Rodon, a 421-foot bomb to deep right center field that tied the score at 1-1. Then in the seventh, after Dalton Guthrie tied the game at 4-4 with an RBI single, Casas drew a walk on eight pitches to load the bases, setting the stage for Tyler Mcdonough’s go-ahead two-run double.
The Red Sox scored five runs in the seventh, all of which were charged to former Red Sox minor leaguer Oddanier Mosqueda. Enmanuel Valdez also hit a home run in the fifth, his second homer of the spring.
Making his third start of the spring, Nick Pivetta had a rocky showing against a Yankees lineup composed largely of big league regulars. The right-hander allowed three runs over three innings, allowing four hits and a walk with three strikeouts while throwing 37 of his 62 pitches for strikes.
Pivetta allowed an RBI single to Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the first and then allowed two straight baserunners to start the fourth, after which he was pulled with no outs. Joely Rodriguez then allowed both of Pivetta’s inherited runners to score on an Anthony Volpe two-run double, and in the bottom of the fifth Rodriguez also served up a solo home run to Gleyber Torres.
Two bright spots for the Red Sox pitching staff were Justin Hagenman and Greg Weissert, both recently acquired in trades who have been excellent so far this spring.
With his scoreless sixth inning on Wednesday, Hagenman — who was acquired in last summer’s Kiké Hernández deal — has now enjoyed six consecutive scoreless outings to start the spring, striking out seven while allowing only one walk and three hits over 5.2 innings. Weissert, one of the pitchers acquired in the Alex Verdugo trade, also threw a scoreless inning and has now allowed only one run through his first 5.2 innings this spring.
Verdugo, meanwhile, went 0 for 3 in his first game against his old team. He is currently batting .190 with a .530 OPS on the spring.