Getty Lucas Giolito
It’s a new year, and Lucas Giolito is officially off the free agency market. On January 3, the Boston Red Sox announced they had signed the 29-year-old starter to a two-year, $38.5 million contract with a player option available after the first season.
It’s a solid deal for Giolito, who struggled substantially during the second half of 2023. The right-hander went into the trade deadline as one of the hottest starters on the market, having posted a 3.79 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 21 starts with the Chicago White Sox, but his performance suffered once he was acquired by the Los Angeles Angels.
In just six starts for the Angels, Giolito posted a 6.89 ERA and 1.47 WHIP before being placed on waivers on August 29, 2023. He was claimed by the Cleveland Guardians two days later, but his stats failed to improve, recording an underwhelming 7.04 ERA in six starts.
The #RedSox today signed RHP Lucas Giolito to a one-year contract for the 2024 season, with a player option for 2025.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated RHP Mauricio Llovera for assignment.
“I’m not a fan at all of my recent performances,” Giolito said in his introductory press conference on January 3. “So I’d like to do the more short-term option and really kind of re-bolster and get back to what I know I can do in this league and then go from there.”
Giolito moves to Boston as the city bids farewell to injury-hampered starter Chris Sale.
The Red Sox traded Sale to the Atlanta Braves in a shock move on December 30, jettisoning a front-line starter who helped lead them to the 2018 World Series title, but whose tenure was marred by a seemingly-endless string of injuries over the past several seasons.
Giolito’s Contract With the Red Sox
Under his new deal, Giolito will collect an $18 million salary in 2024 plus $1 million in performance bonuses. If he chooses to opt out at the end of the season, he’ll receive a $1 million buy-out.
Should Giolito decide to stay in Boston after next season, his 2025 salary will be $19 million plus another $1 million in performance bonuses, and a conditional option will be activated to cover 2026. If the right-hander throws fewer than 140 innings during the 2025 season, the Red Sox will have a $14 million club option for the following year, but if he throws 140 innings or more, 2026 will be covered by a $19 million mutual option. Either way, Giolito will receive a $1.5 million buy-out if the option is declined.
An Interesting Offseason in Boston
On December 30, the Red Sox traded seven-time All Star Chris Sale and $17 million in cash considerations to the Braves in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom. The move required approval from Sale, whose was able to veto any trade as a 10-year veteran who had been with the club for five years.
After playing a crucial role in securing the Red Sox’s 2018 World Series title, Sale signed a five-year, $145 million contract extension in 2019, but despite the highest of hopes, the oft-injured left-hander made just 31 starts over the last four seasons.
“It was nothing short of a disaster the last few years there (in Boston),” Sale said of his injury-riddled career. “I’m not going to shy away from it.”
With the 34-year-old at the healthiest he’s been in years, it’s an interesting time for the Red Sox to send him to Atlanta, especially when they’ve also sent $17 million of the $17.5 million he’s owed in 2024. Add on the $18 million they’ve now agreed to pay Giolito, and the Red Sox are spending $35 million this season (double the $17.5 million they otherwise would’ve had to pay) to have a struggling starter and an infield prospect instead of Sale.
Still, Giolito has proven to be slightly more durable than Sale over the last few seasons, even if his stats have been significantly less dominant, and Grissom appears set to fill Boston’s roster hole at second base, though how successful he will be remains to be seen.
Grissom has had two short stints in the majors with the Braves — 41 games in 2022 and 23 in 2023 — and struggled defensively both times. While he’s spent the majority of his minor-league career at shortstop, he’s seen time at second base and appears far more suited to that position, though there’s likely to be a learning curve as he finds his feet in the new everyday position in Boston.
During both major-league stints, Grissom’s performance at the plate showed a lot of potential, batting .291/.353/.440 in 2022 and .280/.313/.347 in 2023. In the minors, he finished the 2023 season with the fifth-best batting average and OBP in the International League, and if the Red Sox focus on growing his existing skills, he’s likely to become a strong enough hitter to make up for an average defensive performance.
Both Gissom and Giolito are risky acquisitions for the Red Sox, and it’s easy to question the thinking behind it. Still, if either player can meet their potential, it’ll be at least slightly easier to justify sacrificing Sale to Atlanta.
Regardless, Giolito is confident that Boston is where he needs to be.
“The biggest thing right now is for me getting right back to where I was in that 2019-21 range,” Giolito said at his press conference. “What makes sense for me is going somewhere where I know I’m going to be comfortable, I know I’m going to get better, and I truly believe that with the Red Sox organization.”