Lucas Giolito completed four innings against the Athletics tonight. That pushes him beyond 140 frames on the season, clinching a contractual milestone that’ll have an impact on the upcoming free agent class. Giolito has hit the vesting threshold needed to convert the Red Sox’s $14MM club option into a $19MM mutual option. That means he’ll be able to opt out in favor of a $1.5MM buyout and return to the open market in search of a multi-year deal.
Giolito is sure to go that route unless he suffers a major injury within the next few weeks. The 31-year-old righty is amidst his best season since he received down-ballot Cy Young votes each year between 2019-21. He has rebounded nicely from the elbow surgery that robbed him of his first year in Boston. Giolito returned this season on a $19MM player option. A Spring Training hamstring strain forced him to wait a few weeks to make his team debut, but he has been one of Boston’s most reliable starters behind Garrett Crochet over the past few months.
The righty’s first few starts were a little rocky. Giolito pitched to a 4.85 ERA across five appearances in May. He has performed well since then. Giolito has not allowed more than 3.41 earned runs per nine innings in any of the past four months. He carries a 2.86 ERA while averaging almost six innings per start in 18 appearances since the beginning of June. That doesn’t include tonight’s start, in which walks and a handful of inherited runners coming across the board left him with four earned runs through 4 2/3 innings.
All told, Giolito took a 3.30 ERA into today’s appearance. His 20% strikeout rate and 10% swinging strike mark are both a little below average. Giolito isn’t missing bats at the plus rates that he did during his early run with the White Sox, but he’s throwing strikes and working relatively deep into games. He has picked up 14 quality starts while tamping down on the home run issues that plagued him late in his time with Chicago (and during his brief stops with the Angels and Guardians in 2023).
Giolito is going into his age-31 season. He’s coming off a platform year that is arguably better than the one Luis Severino turned in for the Mets a year ago. Severino landed three years and $67MM with an opt-out after the second season. One could write that off as an anomaly by an A’s team that wanted to avoid a revenue sharing grievance and needed to overpay in the midst of a relocation. Even so, Giolito’s numbers stack up to those of Eduardo Rodriguez (four years, $80MM at age 31) and Michael Wacha (three years, $51MM at age 33) in their respective walk years.
Time will tell what kind of deal the market will bear for Giolito. His camp will probably take aim at four years. Even if that doesn’t materialize because of concerns about the dip in strikeouts or the home run issues he batted in previous seasons, he’ll easily beat the $17.5MM net call he faces in declining his end of the mutual option. That’s close to what rebound candidates like Walker Buehler, Alex Cobb and late-career Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander received last winter.
Boston can and almost certainly will tag Giolito with a qualifying offer, which would be in the $22MM range. In the likely event that Giolito declines, that’d entitle them to draft compensation. RosterResource estimates the Red Sox are narrowly above the $241MM luxury tax threshold. Assuming that’s the case, they’d receive a pick after the fourth round in 2026 if Giolito declines the QO and signs with another team.
Image courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images.
Can’t wait to watch him pitch somewhere else next year – after tonight’s dud I’ll pack his bags and drive him to the airport myself!
lol. Red Sox fans love to run players and personnel outa town
Name one fan base thats used to winning that doesn’t when thier team loses alot
Y’all haven’t even been loosing a lot 😂yall just been retooling. That takes years, yall did an amazing job in less time than most large market teams do. Celebrate that. Lmao
Lol. Okay, guess we’ll just build him a statue for no-showing a game we needed to win against an inferior opponent to keep our odds of making the playoffs from dwindling even further than they have over the last 2 weeks. You happy now?
Giolito is 10-4 this season. You wouldn’t have any playoff odds to speak of without him.
Even Crochet can have an off game and Chapman has been more hitable. Gio has been better than most of the starters as a whole. If the offense was actually getting clutch hits they would have won that game.
Unfortunately lately the pitchers have been far from dominant and the offense is asleep. Not sure what is going on with Bregman, but he has not been the offensive threat he appeared earlier in the season (maybe still not 100%). The team is looking less and less like a contender. I hope they can get something going.
But in this case, we’re rooting against players that we are still rooting for.
What makes little sense to me is to “just be above” the tax threshold. Either go all in if you have players to place the QO on or stay under. Did getting May make the difference? No one I’ve discussed it with wanted him.
I liked May well enough, but I agree on the cap. Once you’re above, They’re at $245M with the next level at $261M. They had some room.
He’s been pitching very well for months, and the Red Sox wouldn’t even have a shot at the playoffs without him.
He can’t pitch great every game ya big enormous baby.
Ghost…Its his job ..hes got ONE job!…to get outs while not giving up runs and he gets paid millions of dollars to do it. So yes him doing a “good” job is the least we can expect..every time out especially when he only works like once a week…I assume you have a job and work 5 days a week..if you looked like you half assed it once a week do you think you’d still have your job?
Exactly! I wouldn’t get to keep my job if I only showed up and met expectations 80% of the time. But boo hoo for the guy who gets paid millions to throw a ball having people expect the same out of him.
You really think that Giolito thought, “hey, what if I just half assed it tonight”? Some of you are ridiculous.
No, of course not. That would be stupid. No one can or should go into a game thinking “I’m going to suck tonight”. Difference is the really special ones go in thinking “they’re getting everything I effing have tonight” instead of just hoping for the best and looking like a deer in the headlights if it turns out they don’t have it.
It is not Giolito’s fault that he’s just a guy. That’s fine. Teams need their JAGs. But I’m not interested in paying him like he’s more than that, which he surely is about to be. Especially if he is going to save his worst outings for nights we desperately need a win. Thank you for your service but we have other guys who can fill a JAG role for JAG money.
Poolhalljunkies
hes got ONE job!…to get outs ….if you looked like you half assed it once a week do you think you’d still have your job?
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I usually like your posts, but this is a horrible analysis. NO ONE always gets everyone out. Skenes just got lit up. Does that mean he’s not doing his job?
He’s a good #3, no more, no less.
DirtyWater04
Exactly! I wouldn’t get to keep my job if I only showed up and met expectations 80% of the time.
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Almost by definition, MLB do NOT do a good job 80% of the time. They do a good job exactly 50% of the time.
Liken it to a stockbroker. On average, they are right 50% of the time. 55% is good, and 60% of the time, well, you likely get very wealthy.
On average, Gio has pitched well.
I’m not perfect at my job, neither are you,
Sorry Joe..I think I was just rambling on that one.. or maybe projecting a bit..probably went a bit far haha
To compare athletes to a typical profession is ludicrous.
Stockbrokers aren’t a typical profession. In fact, I had trouble thinking of a profession where 55% win share is a good year.
But the point still stands. If you work in a profession where everyone averages 50%, then 55% is good. It’s not like accounting or nursing, where 99% is the norm. It’s like asking a professional poker player to hit 60% of his coin flip decisions.
Tolle lost and just because it is late doesn’t make any loss more important.Had we not lost to the Yankees twice or to the White Sox earlier.This isn’t the playoffs.You still have a cushion.That is why you try hard to win all season not have long bad streaks.Unless they can score a run from 3rd with less than 2 outs,they will not win anything of importance without being able to not strike out twice to end the inning Maybe send Duran or Eaton on an Infield pop up to Foul territory.The Sox are good at that too.
TB Sox NY
Unless they can score a run from 3rd with less than 2 outs,
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The RS are 9th out of 30 in OPS with a runner on 3rd and < 2 outs. It is not a problem.
TB Sox NY
That is why you try hard to win all season not have long bad streaks.
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Our longest losing streak is 6 games. All the AL playoff teams have losing streaks of either 5 or 6. Not a problem.
Well some of us want see them keep playing baseball into October and are sick of these September slides. If he can’t show up in a game we’ve gotta have against the A’s I don’t really give a damn what he’s done up to this point.
Dirty, you do have a point with this last one. Can’t say you’re wrong.
DirtyWater04
If he can’t show up in a game we’ve gotta have against the A’s
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1-Gio’s been one of the top SPs in BB in Aug/Sept with a 2.91 ERA, and we’ve won 6 of his 9 starts. He is carrying us on his back.
2-I know that the name ‘Athletics’ conjures up bad images, but they’ve gone 29-19 over their last 48 games. That’s one of the best records in BB.
Take any job that you have had and imagine people showing up just to make your job harder, being in front of tens of thousands of people who have paid money to watch you, having a massive television audience, having everything dissected by the “expert” talking heads, and then try to succeed as if none of that exists. Not so easy. Kind of like teaching these days, but without the audience. But hey, go ahead and complain.
Agreed and it’s especially tough in Boston. Not everybody can pitch here. I’d take Lucas back next season if the price wasn’t exorbitant.
Well the game was at home, so those 35,000 people showed up to cheer him on, not make his job harder.
In my line of work I can be fined 5-6 figure amounts, censured, and suspended or even barred over stupid, silly mistakes with no malintent behind them such as having an IM system configured incorrectly or having a typo or poorly worded phrase in a disclosure. If any impropriety on my part, intended or unintended, leads to a client losing money I can be sued and held personally liable for damages. If I waste time and fail to deliver on expectations we lose clients, and we get fired. Everything I write or say is archived and reviewed by our compliance department and certain things require pre-approval before I can send them, or else I’ll get fired for not following the applicable rules and regulations.
But I am sorry to hear the guy who throws a ball for a living has to deal with the pressure of people expecting him to be good at throwing the ball. Can’t imagine how rough that must be.
Bad game by Bello. He gone!
Bello doesn’t have 10 years of experience, a $19 million salary, or an impending free agency in which he’s going to demand a hefty raise. Nor has he ever been around a playoff race. HE can have a bad day. If Gio wants to be paid like an ace I do not feel bad for expecting him to pitch like one. Sorry that seems to bother so many on here.
Weak game by Crochet. Happy retirement!
If we wouldn’t have had this version of Gio this year, there’s no way that we stick in the conversation for the playoffs . That being said, I would rather him get paid somewhere else. There’s still too much uncertainty on a one year outlier after TJ and an injury plagued season for me to want to commit Severino money plus. Appreciate him, and hope he gets paid
Saint – It entirely depends on how much it would take to extend him. He’s had a fine season after shaking off the rust in May.
The bigger question, where’s all the Breggy Beer Man suckups who wanted to give him a blank check after just a few good weeks to start the season?
I really don’t get how ignorant some people can be here. A few good weeks and they want to hand out a massive contract, Boras wishes those fans ran the team.
Same thing with Rafaela, people proclaiming him to be the next Mookie after just a few good weeks. Get a grip, people.
And of course the only players who have had big games tonight are Duran, Yoshida and Story …. three guys who a portion of the “fan base” wanted gone long ago. So comical …..
well the thing with Gio is that it’s safe to assume the deal it’ll take to keep him around will be more than he’s worth.
Of course this is also true of Bregman, except unlike with the rotation there are not any other obvious alternative options for high level play at the hot corner beyond moving Mayer there or re-signing Bregman.
There are plenty of other ways they could go for starting pitching. Plus we saw how slow Bregman’s market moved last winter – if we are going to place bets today on who is more likely to sign for less than they’re probably expecting to get this winter I think we’d all agree Bregman’s a better bet than Giolito.
I think the Sox can afford one modest overpay between these two guys, and I’d choose Bregman.
Dirty – His worth is dictated by the market. If he finishes the season with an ERA under 3.50 then he should get #2 or #3 money, remember he had a really good track record before the injury began impacting him in 2022.
With that said, I don’t think the Sox would be too bad off with a combination of Houck/Crawford/Fitts/Dobbins/Early/Tolle/Sandoval covering the #3-#5 in the rotation. I’ll let you decide if you want to add Harrison to that list ;O)
There’s other hitter options out there besides Breggy. I don’t mind overpays but not on contracts of more than 4 years. They could go big with Tucker or smaller with Suarez, among other options. Story’s flexibility allows for the Sox to acquire a 2B, SS or 3B.
That’s hindsight fever. Can’t build your reputation on hindsight. You’ll be right every time that’s for sure.
You’re calling us out on Bregman and separating the fact you weren’t on board?
I think 90% of the fan base was excited about Alex the first couple of months. The man was a stud.
To come here now and want to push him out the door for poor performance is an interesting opinion.
And then to bash us who were excited and use a term like “suck ups?” I take exception my friend.
You get a little loose with the lip sometimes and I think it’s uncalled for.
Gary – What do you mean by hindsight? Since before he even signed, I was highly skeptical that he’s a player who is deserving of a $160M+ contract. During the month of April when he was performing incredibly well, I maintained my position and supported it further by pointing to his performance in 2023/2024. If you don’t want to give me credit for being correct, just like I was by stating both Giolito and Story would have strong rebound seasons, thats’ fine. But don’t be angry at me for being right, just like I was with Rafaela. Sheesh, talk about a lack of appreciation!
Hey I was excited too about his performance through May 7th, which is when he began to decline …. well before the injury I might add. His OPS was 1.013 on that day, guess what it is now.
I’m not pushing him out the door, I’m saying he won’t be worth nearly what he will want and it will be a huge mistake if the Sox give him what he wants. And I’ve maintained that stance all year.
Why do you think I was talking about you? That’s rather presumptuous of you to assume I’m aware of your position on every player. I read and interact with many, many people here ….. sorry dude, nobody’s takes stand out to me …. not even yours. I remember what was written, but not who wrote it.
So you’ve been getting quite aggressive of late, “venting” as you call it. I’ve let it slide when it’s after a bad loss, but why you mad now bro? They won last night, you should be happy. You’re not related to Breggy Beer Man, are you?
Ohhh …. are you Jared using a burner account? I hope not, he’s a major clown.
And FTR I don’t move my lips when I type, and I’m not a mouth breather either ;O)
That’s a long comment. I may have to reply in pieces. Plus, it’s late, maybe do a couple tomorrow too lol.
I don’t know who Jared is and I’ve been here probably since the beginning. 2012?
I’ve had to add an X here and there to my username,because my email got screwed up, but I’ve been the same guy for 10+ years here.
Hindsight, I mean Alex‘s slumping pretty bad right now and you’re mentioning it after he has obviously started slumping.
So hindsight.
He’s slumping and been slumping and it’s a fact and so you’re jumping on that fact. That’s hindsight in my opinion.., am I wrong?
Gary – I’m glad you’re not him, Carrabis who is “internet-famous” only because he’s friends with Breggy Beer Man.
Look man, times are good now …. Sox are in the postseason for the first time since forever, and they’ve finally got some really good young talent. So why you wanna go down the angry road? It’s just …. weird.
When Bregman signed, I thought that those opt outs and the short term in general was a pretty safe way to go for Boston, who desperately needed a right handed bat and improvement at third base.
If you were skeptical of the make up of that contract, and you thought it put handcuffs on the Red Sox,you were in a very small minority so if you saw it then Congratulations.
I definitely didn’t. I was excited about it.
Quick side note in fact, I am not in favor of paying him four or five years and big money. Absolutely not.
I’ve mentioned a few times that we already have Marcelo Meyer with no place to play. Sure he gets hurt but you’ve gotta play him or trade him.
Can’t put him on second. We’ve got 15 of those guys ready to go lol.
Correct Bregman started declining before the injury. He was sitting around .330 for a while and I think when he got hurt he was around .305? Something like that.
I suppose if you attack an opinion I’ve written here and then call anyone with that opinion suck ups or whatever you said (sorry, “wrote”) I’m going to take exception. And I’ll mention it in a reply and then we go from there.
Gary – No, I mentioned it from the very beginning back in May …. I saw him reverting back to his usual bad habits.
The definition of hindsight is to take a stance after the stance has already been proven accurate.
For instance if I had only recently said “I knew Story would have a strong season” then THAT would be hindsight. But I said it during the offseason, so it’s not.
Same with my take on Breggy.
You’ll let it slide? What, we can’t call you out when you call us suck ups?
It doesn’t sound like you’re letting anything slide.
You’re coming back with your own discussion on the matter. Fantastic.
And yup, I can’t stand these horrible losses either. If we can’t score on the Sacramento A’s, how we going to score on the Astros Yankees Mariners?
Gary – Yes I did, and yes I’m often in the minority here. LOL
That’s why I point this kind of stuff out, because I take so much crap when my stance is different than others.
Like Rafaela, when he was flying high there were people here taking shots at me for my skepticism with regard to his hitting. So yeah, it motivates me to get the last laugh.
You’d do the same if you were in my shoes.
Oh fever, one quickie question. Why do you “like” your own comments?
There’s so many contributions that you make here that I absolutelylove and I’m ready to hit the thumbs up, but you already did so three milli-seconds after the comment appeared?
So what I do is I count that as my thumbs up lol.
Gary – You can post whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t get personal or violates any of the rules here.
And I’ve always defended everyone’s right to express their opinions, even if I don’t agree with them.
Gary I’ve said this before and I believe you already know this …. I often read your posts and disagree with them, but I don’t reply to them.
So yeah, that’s letting stuff slide. I don’t enjoy disagreeing with people, in fact most of my posts involve agreeing with people.
OK, that answers my last question then. I’d probably do the same thing if I felt that way, and in the minority. Any little thing to improve optics is OK by me.
Gary – Let’s just say I have a system, which sometimes requires me doing that. I don’t do it all the time.
For instance, I probably give more thumbs up to others than a proctologist …. yeah I do it because I believe in providing positive feedback, but I also do it to help keep track of what I’ve read.
So there’s a method to my madness.. LOL
Anyway I’ve got to grab some sleep, have a good night my friend.
FPG: “So why you wanna go down the angry road? It’s just …. weird.”
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Says the guy calling Red Sox fans suck ups. It’s just …. weird.
FPG is a troll — ignore him.
Gary – Yeah can’t let people bully you around here, ya know? There are people here who come to post only anti-FPG stuff, and not much else. Online stalking will always lead to a quick mute from me though, I have no time for obsessed haters with mental issues.
So Bello for the series win today? Sox pitchers have done a great job containing Rooker and Kurtz, and keeping a very good power lineup from going yard. Let’s hope that continues today!
Oh my, we need to win some ball games. Seen the guardians go nine and one the last 10 or so? We’re Spiraling fast.
Bello and crochet to the rescue, fingers crossed.
And that offense needs to get something going. Can’t rely on Nate Eaton or Romi Gonzalez lol. Thank goodness for Trevor story.
Praying Wilyer will be good to be activated over the weekend, we need him back so bad.
Gary – Bello needs to straighten out and FAST, they cannot win in the postseason without him.
I missed it, why is Rafaela wearing a star on his cheek? Is that because he still thinks he’s an All-Star? LOL!!
Dirty – I agree 1,000% percent.
Well let’s hope Tolle does well in his first relief outing.
Just what we needed today, another dud. Tolle looks fantastic out of the pen though!
Dirty – I’m wondering if Tolle likes the Fenway mound a lot, maybe that’s why he’s doing so well there?
Yeah if they lose today I’ll be shocked, and embarrassed because I expected them to sweep. Instead it’s the A’s that came close to sweeping, imagine if the A’s didn’t make those 3 fielding errors yesterday … especially the botched double play ball.
Fever- I was one of those earlier in the season who felt we needed to lock up Bregman because he was producing so well. Obviously I don’t feel the same way now. I don’t think that makes me ignorant, just optimistic about what he could add to the team long term as a leader, solid defensive player, and the potential to carry the offense. I have no idea why his offense has completely collapsed.
Yoshida has been terribly inconsistent and still has only a .240 batting average with 20 RBIs. Obviously he was out for a big chunk of time, but he has not been the offensive force you would expect from your DH.
With Story it was really all about staying healthy. Now he is getting the opportunity to showcase what he can add to the team. I do wish his errors were a bit lower, 15 seems high for someone of his defensive abilities.
The offense in general is not a strength at the moment. Hopefully it will start pick up soon.
Uncle – I definitely wasn’t referring to fans like yourself, you are one of my favorite posters here.
He’s simply reverted to his most recent and career numbers.
I mean his BA is .273 and his career BAA is .272 so you can’t get much closer than that. His .820 OPS is exactly what it was in 2022 and is actually quite higher than every other year since 2020. He’s simply not a great hitter.
I readily admit I was wrong about Yoshida, he’s just not the player we expected him to be. Perhaps a change of scenery and regular playing time would help him.
Yeah I agree, the recent string of Story errors is surprising. I wonder if there is some type of nagging injury. Obviously there’s nobody that could easily replace him, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s playing with pain.
Did you hear Story is the first MLB player since Bonds in 1998 to hit 25 homers, steal 30 bases, and drive in 90 runs at Age 32 or older? That’s quite amazing. He had another great offensive game today, the guy is a machine.
It does look like perhaps Bregman is starting to heat up, we shall see. Maybe he will feast on Tampa pitching again, like he did before having his kid in April.
Fever- Story has exceeded expectations with his offense and I wonder if some of the errors are related to him trying to make extraordinary plays and not being successful. He definitely has proven his worth.
I hope Bregman improves because without him hitting the chances of going far are slim. Unfortunately there is reason to be cautious with any significant extension based on recent performance. We will see how he is the rest of the year, but I can’t imagine he is going to get the kind of payday Boras was hoping for.
I don’t take sides on whether he gets paid, but I wouldn’t give him a l/t contract. I’d offer him a QO (depending on how he finishes up). That’s fine by me.
It’s really nice that he came back at the perfect time to make the deal look not so bad for the Red Sox
However, his free agency screams dodgers since John Henry would rather invest in his soccer team and test Kyle Harrison out or give Jordan hicks another go around
The Red Sox are paying luxury tax this year. Spending $300M doesn’t guarantee anything.
Giolito is probably going to chase that free agency money, and he’s probably going to get it, but probably not from the Red Sox I think.
Acoss – Hard to say, but the Sox certainly do already have 7-8 guys that could replace Gio.
He needs to go back to wherever Reynaldo Lopez is!
Turbulence??? Way past that!!! PULL UP!!! Bleep bleep PULL UP!!!
olm – Star Wars?
Fever,
If you replace turbulence with altitude, then it sounds like something from Top Gun lol
Acoss – So instead of reading that movie quote with my Han Solo inner voice, I should use my Maverick inner voice?
FPG
Not sure if you have mentioned this previously. Could Bregman be hampered by some type of nagging injury?. He may have started to decline prior to his time on the IL,but his bat now is bad. Nobody thought he was going to continue to hit .330 , some decline sure. I think he’s hit 1 hmr in 30+ games.
Also ,I like my posts to check back if someone replies without hitting the like button.
Fever,
Definitely use the Maverick voice!
No with your old man yell at cloud President Jack Ryan – looking nothing like Alec Baldwin – inner voice. “GET OFF MY PLANE!!!”
cdc – I noticed you do that, it’s a very good idea!
Sure an injury is always possible. I did say his quad injury was likely hampering him for a few weeks after returning, but he’s been running fine so if it’s an injury it has to be unrelated to running. He’s right to keep it a secret if so, remember Pedroia played a long time with a broken hand or something like that.
Keep in mind Breggy Beer Man is batting almost exactly his career average of .272 and he hasn’t had an OPS over .820 since 2019 so it’s not usual what his numbers are now …. he’s simply not that great a hitter, his value is more with defense and baserunning.
So did I jinx Bello last week or what? Two consecutive stinky starts, hopefully he’s not tiring.
Acoss – Well I have been told I sound a little like Mark Cuban, does that count?
Theo – I’m more of a Samuel L. Jackson “I’ve had it with these MF snakes on this MF plane!!!”
Olmtiant, Grace Jones?
“Pull up to the bumpa babee” 🎤
See ya, don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.
Michael Wacha didn’t perform well in his walk year. It was his Wacha year
The Red Sox seem uncommonly good at getting pitchers back on track and then losing them to free agency. It’s nice to see the farm system finally developing some quality arms as well. They are very underrated at developing pitchers.
hayzee – Which pitchers are you referring to?
Giolito has been this good in the past, prior to the injury. All the Sox did is pay him to have TJS and recover from it, that’s not anything worth bragging about. Neither is the fact they paid him $39M for just one season.
It’s difficult to be overrated or underrated when it comes to developing pitchers, the results speak for itself.
WHZ
Historically speaking,the Sox are not a strong developer of quality starting pitchers. In the modern , financially prudent game,if you can develop top of the rotation guys, you are going to be way ahead of the majority. Bello looks strong,but before him,who,? Buchholz,Lester,Suppan. A significant change in drafting and developing pitching has been in affect. Tolle, Early, Witherspoon. Hopefully this will prove to be the optimal way going forward. Long term free agent pitchers(aces that become free agents) are way to expensive and chock full of risks.
cdc – I agree with your overall point, but there’s been others before Bello …. Houck was an All-Star starter before the injury this year. Crawford was solid as well, Barnes had a good run, etc.
FPG
Individual seasons they were OK. Houck basically had a good 1st half last year. Crawford showed some promise last season also . Barnes,hmmm. I was referring to pitchers that have had solid careers. Hey if Crawford comes back next year and does what he did in 2024 ,or Houck what he did in early 24 pencil them in as #’s 4 & 5
cdc – From 2020-2022 Houck had a 3.02 ERA in 146 IP.
Okay you were talking about careers, understood.
Really just talking starting pitchers . Houck was only strictly a starter in 2023/24 . But hey I still have some hope he gets straightened out. He did start some in 22 . All I’m saying is they have not developed there fair share of strong starting pitchers. Besides Clemens and Lester,there aces have all been free agents or come via trade. That’s about 40 years. Am I missing someone?? Buchholz. Hurst and Tudor,Ojeda,a few good lefties.
cdc – No I don’t think you’re missing anyone. I agree, the 90’s and 2000’s and 2010’s and so far through the 2020’s really didn’t produce any quality starting pitchers until Bello.
FPG
Are they going to win tonight??. They better with Crochet on the mound . Suddenly it’s another gigantic game for Crochet. The vets must step up. Story, Bregman, Duran… Rasmussen has been tough all year. Can the Twins help us out a bit. Cleveland can’t stay this hot,,, right… ?
Cdc – It’s a great pitcher’s matchup, yes the Sox will win but I think it will be close.
Don’t count on the Twins. Lol!
FPG
They got the win. Crochet did enough to put them in a position to win .
The homers are a problem. The hmr by Bregman was the best ball he has it in a long time.. 4 hits for Rafaela ,that’s more than he has had in over 2 weeks 13 games) at this point ,any win is a good win. Cleveland keeps on winning. They play 2 today . Joe Ryan in game one, he has not been pitching well since the deadline. Probably not feeling it with the Twins .
Let’s see what Hairston can do today.
Fever- It was great to see the bats come back to life. Would not have been close if Murphy had not given up the grand slam in the 9th. Sucks when a reliever has a terrible outing, but at least it did not cost us the game. Story had another error so don’t know what is going on there.
Would like to see another big win today. Fingers crossed.
FPG
I don’t believe Detroit will be taking it easy or getting ready for the playoffs just yet. What Cleveland is doing is scaring just about every team in the AL ( not Toronto, Nyy) Unbelievable
Hairston was good yesterday, Wyler is going to be in the lineup today I believe. Can Early do it again ?? The offense seems to be coming around a bit. Though after not scoring with the bases loaded early yesterday …. This is September baseball at its finest…..
cdc – You’re right about Detroit! My stance was prior to the Tigers losing 8 games in the standings to Cleveland just now.
No way the Tigers can take it easy now with just a one game lead in the division, which makes it harder for the Red Sox next weekend. Skubal is confirmed for Tuesday, which means he will pitch Sunday most likely unless there’s nothing more to clinch by then.
I have no reason to believe Early can’t do it again today, looking forward to it!
As a Yankees fan, I hope the Red Sox sign him to 8 years/$400M
That aside, I think he’s a good bet to regress a bit but still earned the benefit of the doubt to be given 2 years guaranteed at market rates for starting pitchers- which, for someone like Giolito, really would be a minimum of about 2 years/$50M and potentially 3 years/$81M or something just as a competitive bid starting point.
Who gives him that deal? No idea. Could that be the starting point everybody matches and the bidding frenzy cranks the final deal up to like 6 years/$210M or something crazy like that? Not outside the realm of possibility- hey, it happens *Patrick Corbin* cough cough*
Either way, I hope a team I dislike overpays for him in years and dollars, or a team I do like gives him 1-2 years at market value and nothing more.
TTO
I think a lot of it depends on his quality in the postseason.(hopefully ) I can see a 3 year $80 million contract. I think the Sox will look to upgrade there #3 pitching spot through a trade. They will definitely offer Giolito a QO. That will definitely hurt his value. I like him much better as a #4 than what he is going to want (#2 money).
He stays and gets a raise. Thats all.
This one is interesting as a lot of guys who have their best season since TJ have been injured at other times during their careers. LG only had the one issue, the balance of his career has been 30+ (or equivalent in the COVID times), so he likely will get paid as “clean” goods vs. damaged ones.