Red Sox 'Remain Engaged' For All-Star Starting Pitcher With Serious Upside

Boston needs to be in on all impact arms this winter

Scott Neville | Dec 26, 2023

Red Sox 'Remain Engaged' For All-Star Starting Pitcher With Serious Upside /

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Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been on an offseason-long search to bolster the pitching staff.

While some progress has been made to acquire depth to both the rotation and bullpen, he's yet to acquire a big-league starter. The hot stove is expected to heat up this week and the Red Sox will be heavily involved.

Among the many players Breslow is expected to negotiate with is one of the more polarizing players available.

"(The Red Sox) Remain engaged on Lucas Giolito along with many other clubs who are targeting his upside," MassLive's Chris Cotillo wrote Tuesday.

Giolito posted a 4.88 ERA (91 ERA+) with a 204-to-73 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .240 batting average against and a 1.31 WHIP in 184 1/3 innings last season.

The 29-year-old was putting together a strong season with the Chicago White Sox (3.79 ERA) but fell off after the trade deadline as part of the Los Angeles Angels and then Cleveland Guardians organizations.

Giolito is an interesting case for Breslow to examine. Let's start with the pros. The right-hander recorded the 11th-most innings pitched in the American League last season while making 33 starts and is a proven innings eater. That is important after the amount of pitching injuries Boston endured a season ago.

His career .233 batting average against is 16 points better than league average, supported by his 25.3% strikeout rate. All of those stats enforce his career 98 ERA+, just a tick below average.

While the Red Sox are expected to make a defensive-minded addition at second base, their defense is not strong at the moment. Having a player who does not have to rely heavily on his teammates and can punch guys out on his own would be a plus.

With that said, he did allow an American League-worst 41 home runs last season, 21 of which came in his final 12 starts. Giolito's year-to-year production has varied tremendously and he's now two full seasons removed from the most dominant stretch of his career.

He posted a 3.47 ERA (129 ERA+) from 2019 to 2021 earning an All-Star nod and three top-11 finishes in AL Cy Young voting during that span. Since then Giolito has a 4.89 ERA in 63 starts.

Giolito is a high-risk, high-reward hurler that Breslow could gamble on, especially if he believes in his new pitching program overhaul that could potentially reignite the veteran's career.

More MLB: Red Sox Have Been In 'Constant Communication' To Reunite With Starting Pitcher

Published Dec 26, 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