White Sox hoping injured ace Giolito misses only 2 starts
The news on injured White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito isn't great. It isn't terrible, either, at least for now.
A day after leaving Friday afternoon's Opening Day start against the Tigers with soreness in his abdomen, Giolito is likely heading to the 10-day injured list and will miss his next two starts and maybe more.
"Optimistically, maybe a couple of starts," Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters Saturday morning in Detroit. "We're definitely going to have to replace him with someone. We just can't wait. We're going to miss him."
There's no doubt about that.
With Lance Lynn already out for two months following right knee surgery, Giolito was the White Sox's undisputed ace.
The right-hander looked good against the Tigers in the opener, allowing 1 hit over 4 scoreless innings while striking out six.
After throwing his 61st pitch to end the fourth, Giolito was unable to make it back out for the fifth inning.
"I felt like a little tweak in my lower left abdomen," he said. "We get random little aches and pains while we're throwing that you kind of just disregard. So I immediately disregarded it. The next pitch, same. Next pitch, same. Just didn't want to go away, so I had to go and say something."
The season has barely started and the Sox's rotation is already a major concern.
Dylan Cease made his debut against the Tigers Saturday and is poised for a big year after going 13-7 with a 3.91 ERA and 226 strikeouts over 165.2 innings last season.
After that it's Michael Kopech, who was in the bullpen in 2021 after missing the previous two years, newcomer Vince Velasquez, who is scheduled to start in Tuesday's home opener and Dallas Keuchel, who was 9-9 with a 5.28 ERA last season.
The White Sox also have to find a replacement for Giolito, hopefully for a short stint.
"Unfortunate, because I really wanted to kick off this year, Opening Day, kind of set the tone," Giolito said. "I feel that we were doing that. But it's just another challenge for us to get through. But I'm very optimistic that this won't affect my season too much and I'll be able to get the ball and help the team win games again soon.
"From my understanding it's kind of like a random, freak, weird thing. Doesn't happen to baseball players very often. Working with the training staff, medical staff, we'll have a very nice plan of action. Going through the first stage of treatment today. For me, the biggest thing is getting it right and getting back out there as soon as possible."