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A late addition as he tried to overcome his late-season elbow issue with the Red Sox in 2025, Giolito signed one-year, $3 million deal with an $8 million mutual option in late April. With his velocity down 2-3 mph, he pitched a total of seven times for Padres in the first half, amassing a 5.16 ERA and an ugly 18/23 K/BB in 29 2/3 innings. He then went on the IL with elbow inflammation and never returned, leaving his future very uncertain.

Giolito is presumably done for the season after hitting the injured list with elbow inflammation back in late June. The procedural move frees up a spot on San Diego’s 40-man roster for outfielder Dustin Harris.

Giolito was scheduled to take the ball against the Dodgers this weekend. That’s no longer happening. He’ll undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue and his next steps. The 31-year-old has been hit hard and battled control issues during his Padres debut, registering an underwhelming 5.16 ERA and 18/23 K/BB ratio across 29 2/3 innings. He’s likely to wind up pitching in a bulk relief role once he’s healthy again.

Giolito allowed seven hits, walked two and struck out two. His fastball averaged 90.2 mph today, which is three mph down from where he was last year in Boston. That he has even a 5.16 ERA at this point is kind of impressive, what with his horrible 18/23 K/BB through 29 2/3 innings. It’s probably time for the Padres to try someone different in his spot. Maybe he’ll agree to go on the IL and work on building arm strength.

Wandy Peralta draws the starting assignment as San Diego’s opener. It’ll be Giolito’s second consecutive bulk relief outing since mid-June. The 31-year-old has compiled a serviceable 4.56 ERA across 25 2/3 innings during his Padres debut. He’s tough to trust as a fantasy option since he’s struggled to work deep into outings and has posted a 16/21 K/BB ratio so far.

Giolito turned in a respectable performance after opener Wandy Peralta tossed a scoreless opening frame, holding St. Louis to just three runs into the late stages of the contest. Unfortunately, he was outdueled by his Cardinals counterpart Dustin May, who tossed a complete-game shutout. He finished with two strikeouts and issued three walks. He’s struggled to work deep into starts and has had difficulty throwing strikes during his Padres debut, but he holds a respectable 4.56 ERA across 25 2/3 innings. He’ll get the ball in a road matchup against the Rangers on Sunday to close out a two-start week.

Giolito tossed a scoreless first inning, then gave up a run on a walk and a hit in the second. An error by Giolito with the bases loaded in the third would bring a second run in. He’d strand one more runner in a scoreless fourth, ending his day at 85 pitches with five walks and three strikeouts. Through five outings, the 31-year-old right-hander carries a 4.35 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, and a 14/18 K/BB ratio across 20 2/3 innings. He’ll take on the Cardinals in St. Louis on Monday.

It could have been worse! Giolito reined in his control issues a bit, and he actually managed whiffs on 14 of 33 swings, including seven of eight swings on his slider, while allowing just four hard-hit balls. He could not quite hit five-and-dive as he was pulled with nobody out in the fifth after allowing an Adolis García home run and Justin Crawford double. Yuki Matsui bravely bailed out the Crawford run from the earned column with an errant pickoff throw. This was broadly encouraging but we’re not quite ready to recommend him against the Reds next week.

You can’t be surprised about the control at this point -- Giolito has walked 12 in 12 2/3 innings over his first three starts in the big leagues this year. Considering the seven hard-hit balls, Giolito was lucky to escape this game with only four earned runs allowed. He did whiff 28 percent of batters that actually swung, but when you prove that wild, major leaguers can just wait for something juicy. We can’t recommend using him against the Phillies next week.

For those who like to watch pitchers struggle to throw strikes, that’s weird, but this one was for you. The two teams combined to walk 14 batters, and Giolito was responsible for six of those. The right-hander was still effective; limiting the A’s to just four singles and initiating three double plays. Giolito has not had great command in his first two outings, but he’s been effective for the most part. He’ll face his former club in the Nationals next weekend.

Giolito had just two batters reach on a hit and a HBP through five. The sixth, though, started with three straight walks, and all three runners came around to score after he departed a 7-0 game. Things might have turned out differently if the Padres had challenged the 3-1 pitch to Cole Emerson that started the rally. It would have been overturned and led to a full count offering. Before the sixth, Giolito was very successful despite averaging just 90.4 mph with his fastball in his 2026 debut. Prior to his elbow issue, he averaged 93.3 mph for the Red Sox last year. Until he picks up the velocity some, he shouldn’t be considered in mixed leagues. He’ll face the A’s next time out.

The 31-year-old righty will make his Padres’ debut on Sunday against the Mariners. Over four minor league rehab starts, Giolito posted a 4.76 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 15/6 K/BB ratio across 17 innings of work. He could wind up carving out some fantasy value in deeper mixed leagues. Alek Jacob was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.

The 31-year-old right-hander will take the rotation spot vacated by the injured Matt Waldron. Giolito has made four minor league rehab starts, registering a 4.76 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 15/6 K/BB ratio over 17 innings. Fantasy managers may want to take a wait-and-see approach before trying to get Giolito into lineups.

This isn’t a huge surprise since Giolito is required to be on an MLB roster by May 17th, which would be this Sunday, the final game of the series against the Mariners. The veteran right-hander was much better in his final rehab start, throwing six shutout innings for Double-A San Antonio while allowing three hits and striking out three. The 31-year-old was solid for the Red Sox last season, but lacks the strikeout upside he possessed in his early MLB seasons. He remains a deep-league option and one we’d probably pick up and keep on our bench for this weekend.

Giolito threw 78 pitches (50 strikes) in his latest rehab outing as he targets a mid-May season debut with the Padres. The 31-year-old is likely to make one additional rehab start this weekend before he’s back in the majors next week.

Fortunately, the 31-year-old right-hander noted after the game that it’s just bruised and that he was able to avoid any significant injury. His performance on the field showed a bit of rust, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks over his 2 2/3 frames. He did punch out four batter in the contest though and threw 40 of his 63 pitches for strikes. He’s going to need at least another couple of starts in the minor leagues before he’s an option to join the Padres’ rotation.

Giolito signed a one-year contract to bolster San Diego’s rotation earlier this week and is going to need a couple outings in the minors to build up his pitch count and stamina before making his season debut. The 31-year-old veteran languished on the open market all offseason before finally finding a suitable deal with the Padres. He’ll offer some appeal as a matchup-dependent streaming option in deeper mixed leagues once he’s ready to debut in mid-May.

This had been rumored for a few days and is now official. Giolito claims that he is built up to 75 pitches, but he also ended last season on the injured list with flexor irritation, so we’ll need to see him throw on the mound before we get a true sense of how he looks. The Padres optioned him to High-A Lake Elsinore, but Giolito needs to be on the MLB roster in 25 days, which would be May 17th. He would figure to take Matt Waldron’s spot in the rotation by that time.

Obviously, we are dealing with levels of rumor and speculation here, but it does make sense, especially after Nick Pivetta’s elbow injury. We know the Padres have interest in the 31-year-old starter, and Giolito has said that he’s maintained a pitch count around 75 while working out on his own this offseason, so he shouldn’t take too long to ramp up. In 26 starts last season, Giolito had a 3.41 ERA and would be on the streaming radar in 12-team leagues if/when he gets back to the big leagues.

Giolito is the biggest name that still hasn’t signed on for the 2026 season; a surprise for a hurler that was solid over 26 starts in 2025 with a 3.41 ERA. Both San Diego and Chicago could use an arm like his in their rotation — few couldn’t, to be fair — and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him latch on with either club in the coming weeks. Giolito has reportedly maintained a 75-pitch count this offseason, but still would almost assuredly need a few starts in the minors before making the jump to the bigs.