Former White Sox starter Lucas Giolito is signing with his fourth team in five months, inking a two-year deal worth $38.5 million with the Boston Red Sox. Jeff Passan was the first to report the news.
According to Passan, Giolito's contract includes an opt-out option after the first year worth $1 million. If not, he will receive $19 million over the second season of the deal in 2025 ($18 million for the first season).
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There is a conditional option for 2026, according to Passan. It becomes a $14 million club option if he throws under 140 innings in 2025. It becomes a mutual option worth $19 million if he throws over 140 innings. The buyout increases to $1.5 million if he chooses to opt-out after the second season.
For reference, Giolito has thrown for over 140 innings in five seasons of his career. Last season, he threw in 121 innings, begging for more production in 2024.
This is an outstanding contract for Giolito, who played for three different teams in 2023.
He played the first half of the 2023 season with the White Sox, starting 21 games and holding a 3.79 ERA. The White Sox traded him, along with Reynaldo Lopez, at the Aug. 1 trade deadline to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for prospects Ky Bush and Edgar Quero.
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Giolito, 29, recorded a 1-5 pitching record in six starts with the Angels and posted a 6.89 ERA. The Angels waived him thereafter. He then signed with the Cleveland Guardians for the rest of the season. There, Giolito pitched another six starts. But this time, he finished with a 7.04 ERA.
Hence, besides his poor finish to a multi-destination 2023 season, Giolito inked an incredibly lucrative deal. The deal comes out of the darkness of this MLB offseason, which has seen few free-agent deals outside of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Giolito's deal may have higher substance, as the dominoes might start falling for the rest of MLB's free agents.