Former White Sox ace Lucas Giolito is back on the free agent market for the second time in three years, and not much is known about his market at this point in the offseason. The 31 year-old spent parts of seven seasons with the White Sox, including an all-star season in 2019 and three Opening Day starts. It’s been a bit of a rocky road for Giolito since leaving the White Sox, leading to a quiet free-agent market this offseason. Giolito, looking to tweak his arsenal to unlock his 2019-2021 production, told Red Sox radio host Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast that he’s adding a two-seam fastball back to his arsenal.
Giolito featured a two-seamer during his early career, but ditched the pitch after the 2018 season as he focused primarily on developing his changeup. During his prime years with the White Sox, Giolito leaned very heavily on his four-seam and changeup, with an occasional slider or curveball to keep hitters off-balance. His struggles from 2022-2024 came when he lost a bit of velocity on his fastball, making his changeup less effective. During the 2018 season where he last threw the two-seamer, Giolito’s ERA was 6.13, so the decision to implement this pitch again is a curious one.
Giolito will find a new city in the next few weeks
With the Red Sox trades for Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, they’re unlikely to have room in their rotation to bring back Giolito, so he’ll almost certainly be headed elsewhere. The market for starting pitching has been largely dormant since Dylan Cease’s shocking mega-deal before Thanksgiving, and Giolito is no exception. The White Sox seem to be in the market for another starter, with ESPN’s Jeff Passan even implying that they’re one of the more aggressive teams in pursuit of starters in Giolito’s tier. A reunion with the White Sox could make sense for both sides. Giolito frequently spends time in Chicago, including as recently as over Christmas, and he’s already familiar with the city and the organization. It’s a completely different infrastructure than his last stint, so he can feel confident that the majority of the negative energy is gone.
OTD in 2020: Lucas Giolito threw the 19th no-hitter in White Sox history vs. Pittsburgh, striking out 13 batters. It was the 305th no-hitter in MLB history.#ChangeTheGame x @IllinoisLottery pic.twitter.com/QF65OzjoGt
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 25, 2022
The primary focus for Giolito should be remaining healthy after an elbow injury wiped out his postseason in 2025. When on the field, he looked much like his old form, posting a 3.41 ERA in 145 innings a season ago. But given his recent health issues and inconsistency, teams may need to see another good season before being willing to invest significantly in him on the open market, and Giolito may settle for a short-term deal as he looks to prove himself.
With just about six weeks remaining until Spring Training begins, Giolito will be finding a new home soon, and he’ll be bringing back an old pitch to his new city. Whether it’ll be a return to Chicago or a completely new place, remains to be seen.