Copyright MassLive
The Red Sox’ decision to not tender a qualifying offer to free agent starter Lucas Giolito on Thursday might have come as a surprise to some. Not Giolito, however. Appearing on Audacy’s Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast with Rob Bradford, Giolito said he was never expecting to receive the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer after ending the season sidelined with an elbow injury which he said has since subsided. “I wasn’t banking on it,” Giolito told Bradford. “I was pretty sure I wasn’t gonna get it. Because I ended the year injured. That’s how it works. You end the year hurt, you’re not in a good spot to command a qualifying offer or whatever. So moving on. “I thought it was obvious. I went into this offseason knowing full well I’d be a free agent. You end the year hurt, it puts a bad taste in the team’s mouth. It is what it is. The fortunate part was that it was like the most benign, weird freak injury that went away after a few days.” Giolito posted a 3.41 ERA over 26 starts for the Red Sox this year, then saw his velocity (and performance) drop off in September. After making his last regular season start in Toronto on September 23, soreness in Giolito’s elbow became so concerning that he flew to Alabama to see a specialist and was ruled out of Boston’s best-of-three playoff series against the Yankees in New York. At the time, he revealed that imaging found no structural damage and the injury was irritation in the flexor tendon that would calm down on its own. That week, manager Alex Cora acknowledged that Giolito would be unlikely to contribute in the postseason at all, a point that became moot when the Red Sox were bounced from the postseason with a Game 3 loss to the Yankees in a winner-take-all game on October 2. At that point, though, Giolito was feeling better — and he told Bradford that there was a real possibility he would have been able to pitch in a game if the Red Sox had advanced to the American League Division Series and/or American League Championship Series. “Within three days, my elbow felt 100% fine again...,” Giolito said. “There’s no injury. Whatever injury there was, it’s gone. It was like a weird freak thing that just popped up at the worst possible time.” Giolito started his throwing program in Boston in mid-October and has since relocated to South Florida, where he is training at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens. He feels no lingering issues from the injury and believes interested teams will feel comfortable with his health when they review medical records over the course of his free agency. “For me, I’m not going into free agency hurt,” Giolito said. “For front offices, they might view it that way. I’m happy to prove I’m fully healthy in any way possible.” Giolito is now free to sign with any club after his mutual option was declined earlier this week. The fact he was not given the qualifying offer eliminates one easy path back to the Red Sox but also will likely help his market as he’s not tied to draft pick compensation like other pitchers on the market. The Red Sox have not ruled out a reunion with Giolito but appear to be aiming to add a true No. 2 behind Garrett Crochet, perhaps someone with a higher ceiling. Giolito remains interested in re-signing but knows the market will have to play itself out. “I made it clear to everybody that I’d love to come back here and continue to play for the Red Sox,” he said. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had having a season with a team in the big leagues. I feel like the way it ended left such a bad taste in my mouth and the rest of the team, particularly me not being able to pitch in that playoff series. It really sucked. “I really hope I can come back and it goes a little bit better for us next time... But it’s got to be a mutual thing.”
