Lucas Giolito focusing on having a ‘veteran presence’ with the Red Sox
New Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito is ready to put his substandard 2023 season in the rearview mirror. The veteran enters his first spring training with the Red Sox and is focused on getting his career back on track - while also helping mentor the other young pitchers on the staff.
“I’d like to have more of a veteran presence and help steer these guys in the right direction if they want that,” Giolito said to the Chicago Sun Times on Sunday. “Building a good culture, building a lot of camaraderie, getting the guys close, that’s what I’m looking forward to doing. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Giolito joins a Red Sox rotation lacking a true ace and he knows that if new pitching coach Andrew Bailey can tweak a few things, he can get back to his old form on the mound.
When Giolito was unsigned this winter, not many teams were showing interest in the free agent. The Red Sox were one of the few clubs that had maintained interest all offseason prior to signing him to a one-year, $19 million deal, which includes a player option for 2025.
Giolito had a down season in 2023, posting a 4.88 ERA and splitting time between three teams, the White Sox, Angels and Guardians. He owned a second-rate 5.27 FIP across 184 1/3 frames with all three teams.
The results weren’t good, but there was distractions off the field that impacted Giolito, including getting divorced from his wife.
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That’s now in the past and the 29-year-old is in Boston and believes in the philosophies that both Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey have pitched to him in order to get back on track.
Andrew Bailey has made it clear that “strikes are everything.” Which is not a wild concept to wrap your head around, but based off the way the Red Sox have operated the last handful of years, there hasn’t been much talk on pitching philosophies.
“Stuff in (the) zone plays. Limiting walks,” Bailey said while being introduced as pitching coach this winter. “Being aggressive and ahead in counts. Obviously, there’s been a been a big change in stuff and swing-and-miss and (velocity) and all that. There’s a handful of things, but identifying the the KPIs (key performance indicators) that we can hold our ourselves accountable (to) is really a priority. And making sure that each player knows himself best.
“‘What makes you an outlier? What makes you a big leaguer?’ There’s generally one or two specific things that you can point to and making sure there’s an education piece around this as well. And doubling down on strengths and making sure guys know what makes them major leaguers (who) hopefully (have) the ability to play for a long time.”
Giolito has gone back this offseason to things he focused on when he was peaking as a big league pitcher. The 6-foot-6 hurler is reportedly throwing harder than the last few years and he’s crediting that to Bailey’s structure and pitching program.
“It’s been a very refreshing change,” he said.
With the likes of Brayan Bello developing into the first top of the rotation-type arm the Red Sox have had in years to Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock and Nick Pivetta, Giolito can offer prospectives on how to lead a staff, preparation and focusing on blocking out the noise as the season inches closer.
The Red Sox would be best served having Pivetta be the club’s Opening Day starter, with Bello going in game two and Giolito to follow. That doesn’t have to be their position in rotation all season, but it would allow Giolito to focus on pitching while serving as the veteran leader amongst the staff.
