Lucas Giolito executes Red Sox contract worth $19 million for 2025 MLB season | News, results, highlights, stats and gossip

Fort Myers, FL – February 20: Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito threw two innings on the field against live batters. (Photo: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe, Getty Images)

Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox is Lucas Giolito deciding on his $19 million salary for the 2025 MLB season.

Arguably, for the veteran right-hander, considerations about his short-term future were moving very quickly.

Giolito passed season-ending elbow surgery during spring training, so he has yet to make his Red Sox debut. With him sidelined through 2024, it was difficult to imagine him hitting the open market and matching his original salary or securing a larger payout spread over multiple years.

Boston was already hoping to have a rebound year.

In 2023, Giolito played 33 games for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Guardians. He finished with a record of 8-15, an ERA of 4.88 and an FIP of 5.27 Baseball references. His 41 home runs allowed led the American League.

Opposing hitters reportedly hit Giolito’s fastball, hitting it .546 Baseball savant. His extra pitches also weren’t as effective as before, as opponents had a wOBA of .314 and .309 against his changeup and slider, respectively. Giolito, meanwhile, allowed a wOBA of .267 and .247 in those two bids during his 2019 All-Star season.

Going on to describe how hitters balanced Giolito like never before, he allowed a career-high barrel rate (11.0 percent) and second-highest hard hit percentage (41.6).

Giolito was initially optimistic about his form in Boston.

“I feel like it’s just a great fit for me, I’m trying to do that, get back to the type of pitcher I know I can be,” he said. he said after signing in January 2024. “I am a huge fan of Andrew Bailey, the new pitching coach. I’ve had great conversations with him over the last few weeks. And then there’s the Boston Red Sox, the legendary franchise, Fenway Park. Nothing to complain about.

Perhaps this excitement will prove justified once he recovers.

It may be a little unrealistic to expect Giolito to return to his peak form with the White Sox when he was earning Cy Young votes. His performances were declining before a serious elbow injury raised additional concerns about his long-term value.

If he proves to be a good mid-rotation starter, it would be a nice bonus for Boston and could net him a solid payday next spring.