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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito is opting into his $19 million salary for the 2025 MLB season.
The deliberations over his short-term future were probably very quick for the veteran right-hander.
Giolito underwent season-ending elbow surgery during spring training, so he has yet to make his debut for the Red Sox. Since he was out for all of 2024, it was difficult to picture him hitting the open market and matching his original salary or securing a larger payout spread across multiple years.
Boston was already banking on him to have a bounce-back year.
Giolito made 33 starts in 2023 across spells with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians. He finished 8-15 with a 4.88 ERA and a 5.27 FIP, per Baseball Reference. His 41 home runs allowed led the American League.
Opposing hitters teed off on Giolito’s fastball, slugging .546, according to Baseball Savant. His secondary pitches weren’t as effective as they had been, either, with opponents sporting a .314 and .309 wOBA respectively against his changeup and slider. By contrast, Giolito allowed a .267 and .247 wOBA with those two offerings during his All-Star season in 2019.
Further outlining how hitters were squaring Giolito up like never before, he allowed a career-high barrel rate (11.0 percent) and his second-highest hard hit percentage (41.6).
Giolito was originally optimistic about his fit in Boston.
“I feel like it’s just a great fit for me, what I’m trying to do, get back to the type of pitcher I know I can be,” he said after signing in January 2024. “I’m a huge fan of Andrew Bailey, the new pitching coach. I’ve had wonderful conversations with him over the last couple of weeks. And then kind of on top of it all, [it’s the] Boston Red Sox, a storied franchise, Fenway Park. Not much to complain about there.”
Maybe that excitement will prove justified when he’s healthy again.
Expecting Giolito to return to his peak White Sox form, when he was garnering Cy Young votes, might be a little unrealistic. His performance was trending downward before a major elbow injury raised additional concerns over his long-term value.
Should he prove to be a good mid-rotation starter, that will be a nice bonus for Boston and could position him for a solid payday next spring.
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