Boston Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito will not be on the active roster for the American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees because of an elbow issue, manager Alex Cora said Monday.
"He's been battling with his elbow the last few days," Cora said. "... Hopefully it's nothing major, but he won't be ready for this [series]."
The 31-year-old Giolito had been expected to start the third game of the best-of-three series on Thursday, following Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello in Boston's rotation. Game 1 begins Tuesday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
"It's a big blow," Crochet said. "He's a great arm and I think that he strikes fear in opposing lineups."
Giolito, who is 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 26 starts this season, was sent to see Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, an orthopedic surgeon at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Alabama.
Giolito's average fastball velocity dropped steadily in the final month of the regular season, from 93.9 mph on Aug. 26 at Arizona to 92.1 mph in his final start at Toronto on Sept. 23. He was 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA in four September starts after going 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six August appearances.
"I believe he was fighting it. He was going to throw a bullpen during the week, and we had to cut it short," Cora said. "After Saturday, Sunday, he didn't look too good, especially yesterday."
Dugas repaired the ulnar collateral ligament in Giolito's right elbow with internal brace surgery on March 12 last year.
Giolito also had Tommy John surgery with Dr. Lewis Yocum on Sept. 13, 2012.
The Red Sox manager said Kyle Harrison and Connelly Early could be options for a Game 3, if needed.
New York starts left-handers Max Fried (19-5) and Carlos Rodon (18-9) in the first two games, followed by rookie Cam Schlittler (4-3).
An All-Star in 2019, Giolito is 71-66 with a 4.30 ERA in nine major league seasons with Washington (2016), the Chicago White Sox (2017-23), the Los Angeles Angels (2023), Cleveland (2023) and Boston (2025).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.