On July 27th, 2023, in the late hours of the evening, the news broke that the Chicago White Sox were sending one-time staff ace Lucas Giolito to the Los Angeles Angels in a trade that signified the end of "Rebuild 1.0."
Giolito, the White Sox opening day starter from 2020-2022, had pitched a decently productive first half of baseball at the time of the trade. He was hoping to help the Angels in their playoff push.
The stint in Anaheim didn’t go as planned for Giolito. He held a 6.89 ERA in six starts with the Angels before he was placed on waivers and claimed by the Cleveland Guardians. He made another six starts in Cleveland, where he was even worse and struggled to a 7.04 ERA. Still, Giolito’s track record was enough to land him a nice contract in free agency. He inked a two-year, $38.5 million deal with the Red Sox that offseason.
Giolito entered camp with Boston feeling good, but his 2024 spring and season came to an abrupt halt when he hurt his elbow after just one Grapefruit League start. Giolito had surgery to put an internal brace in his elbow, and while it wasn't Tommy John surgery, it still ended his 2024 season before it began.
The injury troubles continued for Giolito as the calendar flipped to 2025. Giolito managed just a single spring appearance before going down with a hamstring strain that would cost him the first month of the season.
Giolito's return to the mound
But after 577 days of waiting, Lucas Giolito finally made his Red Sox debut on Wednesday, April 30th against the Toronto Blue Jays. He went six innings, struck out seven, and his only blemishes came with two Blue Jay home runs. His fastball sat in the 94-95 range and his stuff seemed just as effective as it was before the injuries.
Former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks, former Sox ace Garrett Crochet, and former Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez are all teammates of Giolito's on Boston's 26-man roster. The Red Sox are 17-16 and contending for a playoff spot.
Giolito, now 30, is set to hit the free agent market again after 2025 and will be looking to put together a healthy and consistent rest of the season and cash in on the talent that White Sox fans know is there.