After a successful, bounce-back regular season for Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito, his 2025 story ended sadly when he was forced to miss the postseason due to an elbow injury.
At first, Giolito’s injury appeared to complicate his upcoming mutual option situation, but now that it’s become clear that Giolito didn’t suffer any structural damage to his elbow. He’s opted out of his Red Sox contract and entered free agency, as was the expectation before the injury.
Boston didn't extend Giolito the qualifying offer, which would've brought him back for another season on a $22.025 million salary. He'll hit the free agent market without the risk of costing any potential suitors a 2026 MLB Draft pick, and he should have no problem finding a new team.
The veteran's offseason outcome is difficult to predict, but it’s not likely that he ends up back with the Red Sox. With that in mind, here are five potential landing spots that would make sense for Giolito.
5 free agent landing spots for Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers’ interest in Giolito dates back to 2023. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported before the trade deadline that year that LA was pursuing Giolito, who, by the way, went to high school in Los Angeles.
Does a Dodgers team that already has Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani need Giolito? Of course not. But that’s never stopped the Dodgers from adding. LA will definitely be on the lookout for starting pitching reinforcements, as always. The Dodgers are losing Clayton Kershaw, who actually pitched a ton of innings for them in 2025.
Detroit Tigers
Detroit is stepping into some fiscal breathing room with Gleyber Torres, Tommy Kahnle, Alex Cobb, and others becoming free agents. The Tigers' rotation needs more quality behind Tarik Skubal, and Giolito — if he can replicate his 2025 form — would be a worthy No. 2 or No. 3 in that regard.
New York Mets
The Mets are the Mets, so they’ll be aiming higher than Giolito for more marquee guys like Ranger Suárez and Framber Valdez. But depending on how the market shakes out, it wouldn’t be surprising if New York and Giolito end up with together. Giolito showed with the Red Sox that he isn’t afraid of the big moment, so entering the NYC sports market wouldn’t bother him.
San Diego Padres
The Padres have two members of their rotation (Michael King and Dylan Cease) entering free agency, so there could be some significant turnover happening. Giolito would welcome a return to California, given his aforementioned roots in the state (he was born in Burbank and grew up in Santa Monica). The Padres might want to snag Giolito just to keep him away from the Dodgers.
San Francisco Giants
Giolito’s tendency to allow home runs would be mitigated at Oracle Park. The Giants have a ton of money invested in their top-six earners, but beyond that, there’s some room to spend. San Francisco is desperate to get back to the postseason and will thus be going after acquisitions who are well-established winners. Giolito was a big reason why the Red Sox ended up holding onto a playoff berth in the final weeks of 2025.