Boston Red Sox starting pitcher scratched from Wild Card roster due to elbow injury

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters at today's media session that Giolito has an elbow issue and won't be on the Red Sox Wild Card roster.

Cora did not provide a specific diagnosis or tip his hand as to whether Giolito would be available in subsequent rounds, should the Red Sox advance.

Giolito would've been Boston's starter for a potential Game 3 of the series. He'll see a specialist today.

Giolito, 31, missed the entire 2024 season due to UCL surgery but returned with a flourish in 2025, firing 145 frames of 3.41 ERA ball.

That number is inflated a bit by a poor start to the season; from June 10 onward, he made 19 starts with a 2.51 ERA.

Giolito's 19.7% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate contributed to more tepid evaluations from metrics like FIP (4.17) and SIERA (4.66), but his bottom-line results were unequivocally strong, even if their sustainability merited some skepticism.

Giolito did experience a velocity drop of some note in September. After averaging 93.4 mph on his heater through the season's first five months, he averaged 92.5 mph on his four-seamer over his final five appearances, including a season-low 92.1 mph in his final appearance.

He still posted a 3.16 ERA over 25 2/3 innings in those outings, but he also issued 18 walks.

At first glance, that could've been chalked up to fatigue for a pitcher who didn't throw a single inning in '24 but was pushing up toward 150 frames in the stretch run, but word of a possible elbow injury now makes that late slide all the more concerning.