Red Sox Loosely Linked To Frontline Starter As Free Agency Nears

Boston could desperately use a reliable starting pitcher

Scott Neville | Aug 30, 2023

Red Sox Loosely Linked To Frontline Starter As Free Agency Nears /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox's rotation has been a huge problem all season long and upgrades will need to be made over the course of the winter.

The free-agent class is loaded with frontline starting pitchers, one of whom already is being linked to Boston.

"Nobody will confuse (Las Angeles Angels right-hander) Lucas Giolito with a bona fide ace, but the 29-year-old has been a proven innings-eater capable of filling a club’s No. 2 or 3 spot in the rotation, and he will likely be paid accordingly," MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote Tuesday. "Potential fits: (St. Louis) Cardinals, (Los Angeles) Dodgers, Red Sox."

Giolito has been horrid since joining the Angels and tanked his season totals but entered trade deadline season as a premier target and will be highly coveted in free agency.

The former All-Star has a 4.35 career ERA with a 25.2% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate, .232 batting average against and 1.25 WHIP in 983 innings across 162 starts. The veteran has posted an ERA+ at or above 100 in five of his eight seasons.

The Red Sox could use a starter of Giolito's caliber to bolster a rotation full of question marks. He'll have to be far from the only addition to the pitching staff but Giolito would be a logical fit for Boston this offseason.

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Published Aug 30, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu