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It was an accomplishment for Lucas Giolito on Wednesday night—one which, after managing the feat, he had little desire to talk about.
"I don't care," said the Red Sox starting pitcher of his feat.
The approach was understandable. In an outing Giolito classified as "trash", he came away with an uneasy 4 1/3-inning start that saw him give up four runs on five hits while walking five. So, even with the Red Sox ultimately beating the A's, 5-4, at Fenway Park, the fact that the 31-year-old didn't want to talk about anything but the here and he now shouldn't have come as a surprise.
But when the sting of this 25th start of the season wears off, the moment should - and will be - looked at in an entirely different light.
It was with the final out in the fourth inning that Giolito finished off his 140th of the season, kicking in the opportunity to become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. If the pitcher didn't hit 140 innings this season, he would have been locked up by the Red Sox for $14 million in 2026. But now the terms change, with Giolito suddenly carrying a $19 million mutual option.
And with the starter turning in the kind of season he has this season, which now has him with a 3.46 ERA with the Red Sox going 17-8 in his starts, it is a strong possibility that free agency is the next step for Giolito.
While the timing wasn't right to talk about the dynamic Wednesday night, Giolito did sit down with WEEI.com the day before to explain how he viewed the entire scenario.
"It’s one of those things I have been aware of, I truly realized probably months ago," he explained. "I was like, ‘OK, I’m on pace to where this is something I’m not going to have to worry about, or think about.’"
"Despite his most recent start, Giolito has landed with a solid season even after missing almost all of April due to a spring training hamstring injury. And then when he did debut in 2025, there was little consistency over his first seven outings.
In those initial seven starts, Giolito totaled a 6.42 ERA, with opponents managing an .884 OPS. After, however, he has clocked in with a 2.53 ERA in 18 appearances, holding opposing batters to a .625 OPS.
"I wasn’t thinking about it at all (early in the season), actually, because I was so engrossed in coming back," he explained. "That was the last thing on my mind at that point. I had to get my leg right. I had to get my mechanics right. There was no thought to that at all. If there was any thoughts it was like, ‘There is no way I’m going to hit that.’ I’m pitching like crap. My body doesn’t feel right. That’s something that is not even in the realm of possibility. Then we fix my mechanics and I start pitching more effectively. It was like, ‘OK cool. I’m comfortable going deep into games again.’ Then I hit a nice pace and like, ‘Cool.’"
In terms of chasing the 140-inning milestone, Giolito knew better. He had learned his lesson from his last go-round in a contract year.
Back in 2023, the righty had been cruising to a big free agent payday, pitching well in 21 starts with the Chicago White Sox. But then came two trades, one to the Angels and another to Cleveland, which led to a late-season downturn that included going a combined 1-9.
He learned his lesson, learning not to obsess over what may or may happen after the final pitch of the season is thrown.
It's the here and the now, and the big picture. Two different things. Two different priorities. Those reminders hit Giolito from multiple angles Wednesday night.
"I definitely think about the future. In the position I am in life I think about the future now. Having a family, where would I like to be and do and stuff like that. I have made it very clear how much I love it here," he noted.
"There are so many factors at play that I really didn’t know a lot about until I hit free agency for the first time. The only thing within your control is what I do out there. That’s where I really need to dump the most amount of focus. I experienced this in 2023 when I started thinking about, ‘Here I am, I’m traded and I had a pretty good year up until this point and I really have to do well these last few months because I am a free agent.’ It screwed me up. I went away from that mentality of this worrying about me and I. It’s all about the team and all about going out and giving your team a chance to win. You go deep into games and you give your team a chance to win consistently the numbers will be good. You don’t have to worry about that."