With Lucas Giolito injured, do the Red Sox pull the trigger on a big-name, free agent pitcher?
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox Nation has been begging ownership to spend money this offseason to help upgrade a lackluster roster, especially in regard to Boston’s pitching rotation.
Well, those cries have now reached clamorous levels.
ESPN reported Tuesday that free-agent signee Lucas Giolito, widely expected to start Opening Day for the rebuilding Red Sox, has a right elbow injury and could miss the entire 2024 season. (While the severity of his injury isn't known yet, it's clear that Giolito will be out for some time.)
If that ends up being the case, Boston is left with promising youngster Brayan Bello and veteran Nick Pivetta as the only “locked-in” starters. A host of others are vying for rotation spots but none was expected to have the same impact as Giolito.
With more questions than answers as the regular season draws closer by the minute — Boston plays at Seattle on March 28 — fans are left to wonder if ownership has already thrown in the towel on 2024.
The Red Sox, however, do have an ace up their sleeve — free-agent lefty Jordan Montgomery, who’s eager to sign with somebody prior to the season. The frontline starter and World Series champion last year with Texas could instantly change Boston’s outlook from dismal to promising.
But the Red Sox front office has shown little willingness to dole out massive contracts for superstar free agents. Giolito, a player who struggled in 2023 as he bounced around to three different clubs, was the only splash Boston made so far, signing the 29-year-old righty to a two-year, $38.5-million deal in January.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked before last week’s home game against the Detroit Tigers if he’d like to see the team add someone like Montgomery to the rotation: “We’re working hard on trying to improve the 26-man roster, the 40-man roster,” he said. “Let’s see what the future holds.”
In the present, things look bleak. But if the Red Sox do hold firm with their current roster, all eyes will shift to the 24-year-old Bello, a righty who finished last season at 12-11 with a 4.24 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 28 starts.
“Brayan’s upside is huge,” new Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey said. “Yeah, definitely a future ace of a staff, one of the top pitchers in baseball. I think there’s a lot of excitement around that.”
Whether Bello can be that pitcher now will be seen. But even if so, it takes at least several high-quality starters to compete in the American League East. After Pivetta, who spent last season going between the rotation and bullpen and finished 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA, things get dicey.
Among the pitchers who could land starting roles are Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski. There’s also still a possibility the Red Sox could sign a different free-agent pitcher, someone less expensive.
“Jordan Montgomery — is he still a free agent?” veteran closer Kenley Jansen said last week when he was asked specifically about the possible addition of Montgomery. “I mean, yeah, why not?”
Despite the outside distractions, most of the Red Sox players have said all spring that their only focus is to do their jobs and help the team improve.
“Listen, man, we got to focus on what we have in here,” Jansen said. “We got to go out there and step up and show them we can be great. That’s how I see it.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: With Lucas Giolito injured, what's the plan for Red Sox pitching now?
