The Boston Red Sox have needed pitching help all winter, and they did little to address that problem internally. The Red Sox traded Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves, which actually subtracted a viable starting pitcher from the equation.

One starting pitcher the Sox did sign this offseason was Lucas Giolito. Once a Cy Young candidate, Giolito had a rough second half with the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels, as he failed to find his form and watched the MLB Playoffs from his couch.

Signing Giolito certainly didn’t answer most of the questions surrounding the Red Sox this winter, but it did help move the needle in the right direction. That is, until Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately, Giolito suffered a serious elbow injury that could keep him out the entire 2024 season, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Lucas Giolito was essentially serving as the Red Sox No. 2 starting pitcher beyond young ace Brayan Bello. Frankly, it’s arguable if Bello is even ready for such a challenge despite some impressive starts last season.

Boston has maintained some level of interest in Jordan Montgomery, who spent the offseason training in Beantown as his wife was in residency at Harvard Medical School.

USA Today insider Bob Nightengale hinted that rival executives believe Montgomery will sign with the Red Sox. However, as BoSox Injection’s Katie Manganelli points out, that ignores a key factor:

At times this offseason Montgomery’s rumored asking price was similar to the six-year, $162 million contract Carlos Rodon signed with the Yankees last winter. If so, the Red Sox won’t be inclined to pay him.

However, Opening Day is right around the corner and as we’ve seen with Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger, Boras is ammenable to short-term deals with opt outs after the first year. Suddenly, Monty just became a lot more affordable.

Now that Giolito is hurt, the Red Sox are out of options. It’s time to stop stalling and sign Montgomery.