After a season of largely successful starting pitching in 2025, the Boston Red Sox revamped their rotation before the current season. Rebound starter Lucas Giolito was seemingly never part of their plans.
The Red Sox let Giolito walk after a two-year tenure with the club that began with the internal brace procedure. Once he recovered and joined the rotation in 2025, Giolito bounced back to something close to his prime self, ERA-wise.
Yet, it took an entire offseason and then some for Giolito to finally find a new team. On April 22, he landed with the San Diego Padres, who announced the one-year deal on social media. Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the evening before that there were rumors connecting the two parties.
Giolito signed for $3 million, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman, a significant decrease from the $19 million he made with Boston last season. His extended free agency and lack of obvious competition in his market could be key players in this drop.
The Padres have signed 2025 Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito after career rebound followed by long free agency
Welcome to San Diego, Lucas!
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 22, 2026
We have signed right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito to a one-year contract with a mutual option for the 2027 season. pic.twitter.com/2fF8lMmYn6
The Padres are newly desperate for a starter at the time of the Giolito signing. San Diego placed another former Red Sox pitcher, Nick Pivetta, on the injured list, retroactive to April 13, with elbow inflammation due to a flexor strain. Padres manager Craig Stammen expects Pivetta to be sidelined and healing for “weeks and maybe months.”
Giolito, a California native, is a solid replacement for Pivetta (4.50 ERA over 16 frames) in the Padres' rotation. Giolito posted a 3.41 ERA with 121 strikeouts and 56 walks over 145 innings of work last season.
The righty bounced back well from two ugly seasons in 2022-23, during which he posted a 4.89 ERA, combined, over 346 innings. Giolito played for three different teams during the 2023 season and struggled with the Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels, in particular.
Many teams may have been hesitant to sign Giolito over the offseason because of the amount of money he made in 2025, and the end of his season may have scared potential suitors. Giolito didn't start for the Red Sox during their Wild Card series bout with the New York Yankees because he experienced elbow pain. However, his pain dissipated almost as soon as it started and the pitcher attests he spent his offseason healthy.
Some of his underlying metrics may have also been concerning to interested clubs. He threw fewer strikes with Boston than teams are used to seeing from him. His xERA (5.06) and xBA (.264) from 2025 rank in the 12th and 16th percentiles, respectively.
But the results Giolito actually got with the Red Sox were good enough for him to establish himself as the team's No. 2 starter. The Padres will have to wait and see if he can maintain his forward progress from his year in Boston's rotation.
Add us as a preferred source on Google