Lucas Giolito’s return to the big leagues is on the horizon. The veteran right-hander is expected to come off the injured list and make his first MLB start since Oct. 1, 2023, this coming Wednesday, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced Saturday. Giolito missed the entire 2024 season with elbow surgery and the start of 2025 with a hamstring injury.

“We trust the player. We trust the track record,” Cora said Saturday “We talked to him last week. He felt like he was ready. We said it’s not about results (during a rehab assignment). If he goes 2 1/3 (innings) and he walks the world and it’s a bad outing, we’re not going to punish him and oh, go back and have one more. We do believe physically he’s ready. Now it’s about performing at the big league level.”

Giolito has allowed 10 runs and 13 walks in 17 1/3 innings spanning five minor-league rehab starts this month. The numbers are ugly, but for veteran players, rehab starts are more about getting work in and regaining feel for pitches rather than chasing results. It’s more important that Giolito came through those starts healthy than it is that he had a 5.19 ERA.

Entering play Saturday, Red Sox starters ranked 16th in ERA (3.92) and 21st in WAR (0.7), though ace Garrett Crochet is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Crochet has a 1.95 ERA and 1.0 WAR in six starts. The rest of Boston’s rotation has a 4.60 ERA and minus-0.3 WAR in 21 starts. Here is the club’s rotation depth chart:

1. LHP Garrett Crochet

The rotation behind Crochet has not been great, though there is help coming. Bello returned from a shoulder issue this past Tuesday and allowed one run in five innings against the Seattle Mariners. Giolito is likely to return Wednesday. Fitts, who was so impressive in three starts before getting hurt, has resumed throwing. Crawford will start a throwing program soon.

Now 30, Giolito joined the Red Sox last offseason on a two-year, $28.5 million contract with an opt out. He hurt his elbow last spring and did not pitch, then declined to use his opt out after the season. The Red Sox hold a $14 million club option for 2026, so they can keep Giolito next year if he has a smooth return from elbow surgery and performs well.

Last spring’s surgery was Giolito’s second career UCL repair. He had Tommy John surgery soon after being drafted in 2012 and last spring he had the internal brace procedure, which is an alternative to Tommy John surgery. The internal brace can be used for certain partial tears of the ligament, and has a quicker recovery time.

In 2023, his last healthy season, Giolito threw 184 1/3 innings with a 4.88 ERA while bouncing from the Chicago White Sox to Los Angeles Angels to Cleveland Guardians. He was one of the game’s top workhorses from 2018-23, ranking eighth in baseball with 947 innings and fifth with 167 starts.

The Red Sox enter play Saturday with a 14-13 record that is good for second place in the AL East in the early days of the season.