Lucas Giolito was in unhealthy want of a reset. He’d endured a turbulent end to 2023, altering groups twice in a span of two months, and coming off a pair down years he wasn’t positive what to anticipate as he hit free company for the primary time.
But as soon as the Red Sox got here calling, he knew he’d discovered his new house.
Giolito was launched as the latest member of the Red Sox on Wednesday, with the membership formally asserting his one-year cope with a participant choice for 2025. Speaking to reporters, Giolito stated the Red Sox had been among the many first groups he heard from and that proper from the beginning he was bought on coming to Boston.
“The Red Sox were honestly one of the first teams to reach out to me and my representation,” Giolito stated. “So that obviously meant a lot to me.”
Giolito stated he had an “amazing” Zoom name with the Red Sox and favored all the pieces he heard from the group’s management. He stated chief baseball officer Craig Breslow instructed him they anticipated him to deliver stability to the beginning rotation, and likewise that he’s an enormous fan of recent pitching coach Andrew Bailey, with whom he’s been in common contact with over the previous few weeks.
Though he declined to share what number of different presents he had to decide on between — he merely stated it “wasn’t many” — he stated that from the start he was locked in on the Red Sox.
“For me I really was sold on the Red Sox philosophy, talking with (Alex Cora), talking to Andrew Bailey, talking to Craig, that initial meeting really got me excited,” Giolito stated. “So a lot of my free agency process was tailored towards getting something done here, so now I’m very excited to be here.”
Throughout his profession Giolito has been one of the crucial sturdy beginning pitchers in baseball, averaging near 175 innings over the previous 5 full 162-game seasons. He additionally acquired Cy Young votes in three straight seasons between 2019-21 whereas pitching for the Chicago White Sox, however over the previous two years his manufacturing has fallen off.
Things went significantly poorly through the second half final yr, a tumultuous stretch wherein he posted a 7.13 ERA whereas altering groups twice. He additionally allowed an AL-worst 41 house runs, which he known as an “astounding number,” and completed the season with a 4.88 ERA over 184.1 innings.
Between the entire upheaval surrounding him on and off the sector, plus the looming uncertainty of his pending free company, Giolito acknowledged he fell into some unhealthy funks mechanically and mentally however is in a significantly better place now.
“The last couple months of the year were kind of a weird whirlwind for me,” Giolito stated. “I’m not going to make any excuses for poor performance because guys get traded all the time and they pitch great or hit great. Now that that’s all out of the way, now that I’ve found my home here, I’m able to go and do my work, there’s no unknown and I’m very excited to meet everybody, get comfortable and go out and win some games.”
Looking forward Giolito stated his objective is to get again to fundamentals, get his mechanics tightened up and put together himself to throw as many high quality innings as doable. He added that he’s spent a few nights in Boston during the last week and he’s excited to get to know the town higher, and likewise that his mother and father stay in upstate New York close to the Massachusetts border, in order that they’ll be capable to see him pitch rather more usually.
In the approaching weeks he expects to develop a extra concrete plan for the spring with Bailey, however as soon as the season begins he expects to take the hill each fifth day and turn into somebody the Red Sox can depend upon. If all goes effectively he may bolster his worth and hit the free agent market once more subsequent winter, however within the meantime he’s all-in on Boston and desires to assist the membership in any approach he can.
“I care deeply about the fanbase, I care deeply about trying to provide the best product possible, so you’re never going to see me slacking off or getting lazy or not caring,” Giolito stated. “I’ll work my (butt) off to do all the pieces I can to supply the group I’m taking part in for and subsequently the fanbase the perfect model of myself.
“So that’s my mindset going into this year,” he continued. “Now that all the noise is gone I’m here, I’m ready to get to work, I’m putting in some really good work this offseason so far and I’m confident that I’ll go out and provide a very nice product.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com