One of the clearest needs the Boston Red Sox hope to address this offseason is pitching. Whether it's relief pitching or starting pitching, the Red Sox have to shore up their staff to put themselves in the best position to compete in 2025.
The Red Sox certainly have the ability to explore a trade for a top end starter, but they could also opt to bring in someone through free agency. Although free agency is not open yet since the playoffs are still going on, one Boston's current pitchers has already gotten a jump on the recruiting process with one big, pending free agent starting pitcher.
Lucas Giolito, who missed the entire 2024 campaign due to surgery on his UCL, appeared on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast and told Rob Bradford that he's already begun recruiting Max Fried to join him on the Red Sox in 2025.
Giolito and Fried have an extensive history, as the two were teammates in high school and were both first-round picks in the 2012 MLB Draft — Fried was chosen by the San Diego Padres and Giolito by the Washington Nationals.
Lucas Giolito has pushed for his friend and high school teammate Max Fried to pitch for the Red Sox in 2025
Morning podcast: The life and times of Lucas Giolito. Talking Netflix, autograph seekers, life without playing and the recruitment of high school buddy.
— Baseball Isn’t Boring (@BBisntBoring) October 14, 2024
Listen: https://t.co/YdRdyfaEN5 pic.twitter.com/0Ifuqs6aao
Fried is at the top of the starting pitching class of free agents this offseason, alongside Baltimore Orioles ace Corbin Burnes and Los Angeles Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty, who was also a teammate of Fried and Giolito in high school.
Getting Fried would be a boon to the Red Sox pitching staff, as he's coming off a 29-start, 174-inning season. He posted a 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and two complete games while averaging less than a home run per nine and limiting the walks, good for a 3.4 fWAR.
Fried could also make sense purely based on the way he pitches. For all the talk on how left-handed heavy the Red Sox are in the batter's box, they are very right-handed heavy on the pitcher's mound. The only true starting pitcher who was left-handed for the team last season was James Paxton, who made just three starts for the team before suffering a season-ending injury that coincides with his retirement.
Time will tell if Giolito's recruiting tactics will work, but it's only a good thing that he's trying to reunite with his former teammate here, as his former teammate happens to be a really good pitcher.