Lucas Giolito's biggest contribution to the Red Sox might be luring Max Fried to Boston
Lucas Giolito's biggest contribution to the Red Sox might be luring Max Fried to Boston
One Red Sox pitcher that is all but a lock to return next season is right-hander Lucas Giolito once he exercises his $19 million player option.
Giolito missed the entire 2024 season following internal brace surgery on his right pitching elbow. The veteran suffered his arm injury during spring training after he agreed to a deal with Boston during the offseason. He is expected to exercise his option and return to the club for the 2025 season.
Back in March, Giolito felt discomfort in his elbow following an outing against the Twins where he gave up two hits, four runs, and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.
With the righty healthy, Giolito will help give the Red Sox rotation a much-needed boost for next season. Outside of what Giolito can do for the Red Sox on the mound, he’s also been trying to recruit one of the top free agent left-handers on the market in Braves’ Max Fried.
While on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, the 30-year-old has been making a sales pitch for him to come to the Red Sox.
“You think I haven’t already talked to him about it,” Giolito told WEEI’s Rob Bradford when asked about his potential pitch to Fried.
“Obviously, I think he would fit in great,” Giolito said. “Obviously, I think the need is there. You look at the starting pitcher depth chart and you don’t see a lot of ‘LHP’ and, in my opinion, he’s the best, most consistent starting pitcher. So, I think it’s a good fit. Obviously, I’m a little biased.”
Both Fried and Giolito played high school baseball together at Harvard-Westlake High School in California. The 30-year-old southpaw went 11-10 with the Braves during the 2024 season, posting a 3.25 ERA over 174.1 innings of work. The two-time All-Star had his best season with Atlanta in 2022, finishing second in NL Cy Young Award voting after going 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA.
“We played high school ball together, and we always talked about how cool it would be if we were on the same team in the big leagues—which were legitimate conversations we would have when we were 17,” Giolito said of Fried. “So, this is the shot to make it a reality right here.”
If Giolito can help lure Fried to the Red Sox, Boston could offer a completely different-looking rotation than in years past. Fried would lead a group that’ll include Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Giolito.
Fried, who will turn 31 in January, isn’t an innings eater, having only pitched over 180 innings once in his career. The market for Fried will be robust, with the Braves looking to potentially bring him back into the fold; the Orioles could look to replace him with Corbin Burnes; the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers all can’t be ruled out.
A healthy Giolito will be a big boost for the Red Sox, but his biggest impact on the team might be his relationship with Fried and worth the money chief baseball officer Craig Breslow gave him in free agency last season.
