The Red Sox are sitting at 29-33 through 62 games, and that’s not where anyone expected them to be after the offseason moves they made.
Boston loaded up this winter. They traded for ace Garrett Crochet and signed Alex Bregman to a massive deal. The pieces looked good on paper.
But they’re below .500 and trending in the wrong direction. If this slide continues, the Red Sox might pivot from buyers to sellers at the deadline. That’s where Lucas Giolito comes in.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer has Giolito at No. 26 on his trade deadline big board, and it makes sense. The right-hander isn’t the pitcher who made the All-Star team and contended for Cy Young awards from 2019-2021.
“This isn’t the same Lucas Giolito who was an All-Star and Cy Young Award contender between 2019 and 2021, most notably in the sense that he doesn’t throw as hard or miss as many bats,” Rymer wrote.
The velocity is down. The strikeouts aren’t there like they used to be.
But Giolito’s throwing strikes this year, and his changeup is working again. Hitters are batting just .179 against it, which is getting back to the form that made him effective.
“He’s at least an innings-eater, and it probably wouldn’t be hard to get Boston to eat some of his $19 million salary,” Rymer noted.
That’s the key here. Giolito’s making $19 million this season in the second year of his two-year, $38.5 million deal, according to Spotrac. There’s also a 2026 mutual option in there.
The 30-year-old missed all of 2024 and the start of this season recovering from injury. He’s made six starts so far with a 4.78 ERA.
Not great numbers, but context matters. Giolito’s working his way back from missing over a year of baseball. For a contending team that needs innings and has room in their budget, he could be valuable.
What makes this interesting is Boston’s flexibility. They could eat salary to get better prospects back, or they could ask the acquiring team to take on more money for a smaller return.
If the Red Sox decide they’re not making the playoffs this year, moving Giolito makes sense on multiple levels. They’d cut payroll, get younger talent back, and clear a roster spot for someone who might be part of their 2026 plans.
The market for starting pitching is always active at the deadline. Giolito might not be the ace he once was, but he’s shown enough this season to intrigue teams looking for rotation help.
