Padres' Lucas Giolito Shares Update After Injury Scare

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Padres' Lucas Giolito Shares Update After Injury Scare

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Joey Mistretta | Last updated Apr 26, 2026 12:46 AM ET

Lucas Giolito recently signed a contract with the San Diego Padres. San Diego is hopeful that the veteran right-hander can make an impact at the big league level later this season. At the moment, he is building up to join the big league ball club at the minor league level. Giolito made an appearance on Saturday and suffered an injury scare. The 31-year-old was hit by a comebacker in his hand and exited the game in the third inning, but he shut down concern after his outing, via Marty Caswell.

"It's fine, it's just a little bruised up," Giolito said. "It's like, kind of a fun return, you know, 103 at my face. Just reacted, unfortunately got the wrong hand. But feels fine right now."

Giolito reacted as the ball was hit right back at him. He obviously would have preferred for the ball to have hit his glove as opposed to his pitching hand. Nevertheless, he believes he avoided a serious injury.

Update, Giolito says he's fine https://t.co/HsEU0E1edp pic.twitter.com/g7MkFsk9Ma
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) April 26, 2026

The Padres will obviously closely monitor the situation. Giolito is still building up so it remains to be seen if what occurred on Saturday night will cause a delay to his return to the MLB level. San Diego is not going to rush him to MLB regardless. The team wants to make sure that Giolito is completely ready to go before calling him up to the big league rotation.

What Lucas Giolito Can Bring to Padres

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (54)Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Giolito, 31, pitched well in 2025 with the Boston Red Sox, as he turned in a respectable 3.41 ERA in 26 starts. He did not pitch in 2024 due to injury, but there was a time when Giolito was one of the best starting pitchers in the game. From 2019-2021 with the Chicago White Sox, Giolito finished 11th or better in American League Cy young voting in each season. He finished as high as sixth, which occurred in 2019.

At only 31 years old, it certainly would not be surprising to see Giolito make a significant impact in the Padres' starting rotation at some point during the season. He displayed the ability to still find success at the MLB level last year with the Red Sox.

At 18-8, the Padres have found success in 2026. With that being said, they will not complain about adding a proven veteran to their starting rotation.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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