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‘It was obvious’: Lucas Giolito not surprised Red Sox didn’t extend him qualifying offer
The Red Sox could've given Giolito a one-year, $22.05 million qualifying offer, which could've given Boston draft compensation if the pitcher leaves in free agency.
Lucas Giolito opens up about not getting qualifying offer from Red Sox: The Red Sox’ decision not to give Lucas Giolito the $22.05 million qualifying offer might have surprised some, but it wasn’t a shock to the starting pitcher.
In an interview on Audacy’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, Giolito told Rob Bradford that he wasn’t expecting to receive the qualifying offer from the Red Sox because of how his season ended.
“I wasn’t banking on it,” Giolito told Bradford. “I was pretty sure I wasn’t gonna get it. Because I ended the year injured. That’s how it works. You end the year hurt, you’re not in a good spot to command a qualifying offer or whatever. So moving on.
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“I thought it was obvious. I went into this offseason knowing full well I’d be a free agent. You end the year hurt, it puts a bad taste in the team’s mouth. It is what it is. The fortunate part was that it was like the most benign, weird freak injury that went away after a few days.”
Following a career resurgence in the regular season, Giolito’s year came to a halt right when the Red Sox were set to start the postseason. Giolito missed the Red Sox’ Wild Card Series against the Yankees after dealing with elbow soreness in the days following his final regular-season start.
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Giolito would likely miss the entire postseason at the time of the injury. However, had the Red Sox made it past the Yankees, Giolito might have been able to pitch in the ALDS or ALCS as he provided a positive injury update entering free agency.
“Within three days, my elbow felt 100% fine again,” Giolito said. “There’s no injury. Whatever injury there was, it’s gone. It was like a weird freak thing that just popped up at the worst possible time.
“For me, I’m not going into free agency hurt,” Giolito added. “For front offices, they might view it that way. I’m happy to prove I’m fully healthy in any way possible.”
Giolito, 31, was arguably the Red Sox’ best pitcher outside of AL Cy Young analyst finalist Garrett Crochet this season. The righty went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA, posting a 1.290 WHIP and 121 strikeouts in 145 innings pitched over 26 starts.
The performance put the Red Sox in a spot that felt unlikely entering the 2025 season after Giolito missed the entire 2024 campaign due to a right elbow injury. After Giolito declined his end of a $19 million mutual option earlier in the week, forcing the Red Sox to either give him the one-year qualifying offer or risk losing him in free agency without draft compensation. Had the Red Sox given Giolito the qualifying offer, he would’ve had until Nov. 18 to accept it and remain in Boston.
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While Giolito declined to pick up his end of the mutual option, he expressed a strong desire to remain in Boston in his conversation with Bradford.
“I made it clear to everybody that I’d love to come back here and continue to play for the Red Sox,” he said. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had having a season with a team in the big leagues. I feel like the way it ended left such a bad taste in my mouth and the rest of the team, particularly me not being able to pitch in that playoff series. It really sucked.”
Trivia: With Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Garrett Crochet all posting sub-4.00 ERAs in 2025, it marked the first time that three Red Sox pitchers did that while making at least 25 appearances in a season for the first time since 2018. Who were the three pitchers to do that for the Red Sox in 2018?
(Hint: All three pitchers threw with the same hand)
Scores and schedule:
The Bruins won their fifth game in a row on Thursday, taking down the Senators 3-2 in overtime. With the win, the Bruins moved into a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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The Celtics also hit the road this weekend. They take on the Magic in Orlando at 7 p.m. on Friday. They’ll take on the Magic again in Orlando on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Finally, the Patriots have one of their toughest tests of the season on Sunday when they take on the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. That game is set for 1 p.m.
Read more from Boston.com:
- Ten days after their ugliest loss of year, Bruins are looking like a very different team
- Pavel Zacha scores with 6 seconds left in OT as Bruins beat Senators 3-2 and earn fifth straight victory
- As injuries linger, Patriots rookie Kyle Williams could be poised for breakout opportunity
- Former Celtics guard Tony Allen arrested on drug charges
- Report: Mike Vrabel’s former team was ‘unwilling’ to trade with Patriots
- Will the Patriots’ six-game winning streak come to an end vs. Bucs?
Broncos barely hold on for victory vs. Raiders
The Broncos didn’t fall into the same trap as the Patriots did in Week 1, beating the Raiders on Thursday night. But it wasn’t the prettiest win for Denver, who won 10-7 thanks to a late missed field goal by Las Vegas. The win improved the Broncos’ record to 8-2, giving them a half-game lead ahead of the Patriots in the AFC standings ahead of Sunday.
Alex Cora dishes on what’s ahead for Red Sox
In an interview with MLB Network on Thursday, Alex Cora sounded optimisitc about what’s ahead for the Red Sox.
“This is just the beginning of something great that is going to happen in Boston,” the Red Sox manager said.
On this day
Forty-seven years ago on Friday, Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice was named American League MVP for his play in the 1978 season. Rice was baseball’s top hitter in many metrics that year, leading the league in hits (213), triples (15), home runs (46), RBIs (139), and slugging percentage (.600).
Rice was the seventh player in Red Sox history to win MVP.
Daily highlight
It’s not often you make history in a zero-point performance, but that’s what Florida’s Olivier Rioux did on Thursday. The redshirt freshman center became the tallest player to ever play a game in college basketball history, standing at 7-foot-9. Rioux checked in for the final two minutes of Florida’s 104-64 win over North Florida.
Trivia answer: Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez
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