The White Sox have been down two starting pitchers in April but they could be on the verge of getting one back. Lucas Gioltio will begin throwing off a mound today and is expected to rejoin the rotation soon.
During an appearance on The Chris Rose Rotation podcast, Giolito discussed his injury status with Rose.
"I have a rash on my stomach from the trainers, PT, all that kind of stuff rubbing on it. I guess with the massage stuff my arm is used to that getting rubbed on, my back, but lower left abdomen no. So now that's all rashed up," Giolito said.
Despite the rash, the 6-6 right-hander from Santa Monica feels good.
"I feel very good. It's one of those things where it was like a freak kind of injury. It's actually an injury that happens to tennis players, not baseball players really."
Abdominal strains are very common in tennis because of the rotation it takes while serving. While Giolito is not the first baseball player to suffer an abdominal strain, it is considered uncommon for MLB players.
Giolito explained why he thinks he thinks caused the injury.
"I was losing a lot of balls up. I guess getting acclimated to cold weather pitching again and really having to get over the baseball when your fingers are cold they kinda slip out on you. Changeups were slipping out on me a lot that first game and so I was really thinking about getting over the ball as the game progressed, especially my changeup. Like, get over it get on top of it. I don't know if one of them I just overdid it a bit with my trunk and I got this tennis player injury."
However, Giolito later added, "I feel damn near 100 percent right now."
He has already begun throwing long toss and Tuesday will mark the first time he has pitched off a mound since Opening Day. This is excellent news for the White Sox pitching staff.
A 2019 All-Star, Giolito is coming off a third consecutive successful season with the White Sox. In 2020 he owned a 3.48 ERA and tossed the 19th no-hitter in franchise history. In 2021 he posted a 3.53 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 31 starts and 178.2 innings.
Giolito was selected as the White Sox Opening Day starter for the third time in his career. His 2022 campaign got off to a fast start. he recorded six strikeouts in four innings of work and only surrendered one hit to that point.
That is why fans feared the worse after he got replaced after just 61 pitches, especially with Lance Lynn already on the shelf.
The White Sox rotation has performed admirably in his absence. Through nine games the rotation ranks first in ERA, opponent average, opponent OPS, strikeout percentage, and WHIP. However, they have struggled to go deep into games. Only Dylan Cease and Dallas Keuchel have made it through five innings to this point.
As the White Sox leader in innings pitched last season he will be a welcomed addition to the rotation.
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