Right-handed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito was one of the Boston Red Sox’s most prominent signings last year, before the 2024 campaign. Unfortunately, he was unable to make his debut with the Sox due to an elbow injury that required internal brace surgery, effectively wiping out his entire campaign.

Lucas Giolito is preparing for Opening Day return

The pitcher and the Red Sox have seen and heard from several people that he could be back by June 2025, but Giolito himself clarified the situation and explained that since it wasn’t Tommy John but instead the internal brace procedure, he is actually shooting for Opening Day.

“I’m going to be ready for a full Spring Training and a full season,” Giolito told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast, according to MLB Trade Rumors. “I find it funny when I see stuff online saying that I’ll be coming back in June. I don’t know where that came from. I have no idea. … Everything’s going great. I look forward to a full year.”

Giolito is actually in the final phase of his recovery from the procedure. The internal brace is generally less invasive than Tommy John and doesn’t take as long, so given that the Red Sox hurler went under the knife in March, he expects to play a part in 2025’s Spring Training.

Giolito will be part of a crowded Red Sox depth chart

He has been rehabbing at the Red Sox complex in Fort Myers and said he expects to progress to throwing off a mound soon. If his desires and predictions come true, he will be part of a suddenly deeper pool of starting pitchers on the Red Sox. The organization brought in Garrett Crochet via trade and Walker Buehler via free agency, and also has Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and, when he regains full health, Patrick Sandoval.

The 30-year-old Giolito posted a 4.88 ERA in 184.1 innings in 2023, his last fully healthy campaign, with three different organizations. He is hoping for a fresh start in his career and a return to his best form, displayed between 2019 and 2021 when he was consistently in the mid-3.00s with his ERA.