First, the good news: Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito continued his career resurgence on Tuesday with the best start of his 2025 season.
Now, the bad news: with that outing, a 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles, Giolito got eight scoreless innings closer to potentially becoming a free agent this offseason.
Nearly five years to the day since he threw a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 25, 2020, Giolito allowed just four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over his eight innings at Camden Yards. The 31-year-old right-hander improved to 9-2 on the season, lowering his ERA to 3.47.
“Kept throwing strikes,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of Giolito’s effort. “It was a good battle.”
Lucas Giolito Continues Comeback With Eight Scoreless Innings Against Baltimore
Boston would also win on Wednesday, scoring a pair of runs in the ninth for a comeback 3-2 decision that salvaged a strong start from Brayan Bello. It was the team’s third-straight win and sixth in the last seven games, boosting its record to 74-60, 4.0 games behind Toronto for first place in the AL Central and half-game up on New York for the top wild card spot. Garret Crochet was scheduled to take the mound for the Red Sox on Thursday afternoon as they go for the four-game sweep of Baltimore.
“I’m having a blast right now with these guys,” Giolito said. “Every single game matters, so it adds that extra edge each time you take the ball, especially with the way our rotation has been going, watching Crochet and Bello. It adds extra motivation to keep up and keep putting up good performances.”
The Red Sox may want to enjoy it while it lasts. Because at his current rate, Giolito could very well be pitching himself toward a new team in 2026.
Lucas Giolito Nears Innings Total That Could Trigger Free Agency Option
Following a rough 2023 season that saw him pitching for three different teams, Giolito, an All-Star for the White Sox in 2021, signed a two-year, $38.5 million contract with Boston that could keep him with the team for another season, depending on how well he does in September. If Giolito pitches fewer than 140 innings for the season, the Red Sox will have a $14 million club option that they almost certainly would trigger; if he reaches that 140-inning marker, there is a $19 million mutual option with a $1.5 million buyout, which would give Giolito the opportunity to re-enter free agency and take advantage of his comeback campaign.
After Tuesday’s game, Giolito has completed 119.1 innings. With the potential of making as many as six more starts through the end of the regular season, 140 is well within reach.
It’s enough to make Boston fans want to pound their heads against a wall. Especially considering that, after signing his contract with the Red Sox, Giolito suffered an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in just his second start of spring training in 2024, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season.
“We fix him so he can pitch himself into a free agent deal after 1 season 😭” one Boston fan lamented in a Reddit thread that was started after Giolito’s win over Baltimore.
“Yeah he’s gonna get an absolute bag this winter, the upcoming FA class of starters is pretty thin after Framber [Valdez of Houston],” a respondent agreed.
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