The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, Jorge Soler is headed to the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox have already upgraded their pitching staff.
It’s been a busy start to the offseason.
The Red Sox announced on Thursday that right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito exercised his player option for 2025, locking him in for a $19.25 million salary.
The news isn’t surprising but is encouraging for Boston nonetheless. Giolito signed on last offseason but suffered an injury during spring training that required an internal bracing procedure that sidelined him for a full season. Giolito officially exercising his option brings high-end depth to a rotation in desperate need of arms and could even have an impact on the free agent market.
Giolito projects toward the middle of Boston’s rotation as it’s currently assembled, though his last two seasons were filled with instability. The Red Sox are hoping he can get back to his 2021 form; when he finished with a 3.53 ERA across 31 starts.
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Giolito’s relationship with former high school teammates Max Fried and Jack Flaherty was highly publicized during the World Series, which Flaherty won with LA. Fried and Flaherty are both scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, leading some to predict he could have interest in signing with Boston.
The Red Sox presumably would have interest in both for the right price.
Featured image via Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
