# On Dec. 30, 2023, the Boston Red Sox agreed to a 2-year, $38.5 million (approximately 55.2 billion won) contract with free agent pitcher Lucas Giolito.

# On May 1, 2025, Giolito will make his major league debut wearing a Boston uniform. It will be 16 months after the 2-year contract.

Giolito will finally make his Boston debut. Giolito is scheduled to pitch as a starter in an away game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on the 1st (Korean time).

Giolito signed a 2-year, $38.5 million contract with Boston at the end of December 2023. The contract includes a player option for a salary of $18 million in 2024 and $19 million in 2025. There is a club option of $14 million for 2026 (if he pitches 140 innings in 2025, it becomes a mutual option for $19 million). There is a buyout of $1.5 million.

However, Giolito suffered a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in March before the 2024 season. He ultimately underwent surgery and dedicated a year to rehabilitation, spending one year of the 2-year contract on rehab. Giolito understandably remained with Boston by exercising his player option of $19 million for 2025.

But another injury struck. Giolito was a starting pitcher in a spring training game against the Philadelphia Phillies on March 12 but had to leave after pitching only one inning due to a hamstring issue. He underwent an MRI, which revealed a strain, and entered rehabilitation.

Fortunately, the injury was not severe. After about a month of recovery, Giolito appeared in five rehabilitation games in the minor leagues. He accumulated 17⅓ innings over five games in Double-A and Triple-A with an earned run average of 5.19. In his last game, he threw 85 pitches, ensuring he increased his pitch count in his major league return.

Giolito recorded a cumulative major league performance of 180 games with 61 wins and 62 losses and an earned run average of 4.43 as of last year. Giolito debuted in the big leagues with the Washington Nationals in 2016 and established himself as a starting pitcher with the Chicago White Sox in 2018.

Since 2018, he has completed six consecutive seasons of qualifying innings. Excluding the shortened season in 2020, he pitched over 170 innings in four seasons and recorded over 10 wins four times. In 2023, he played for three teams—White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Cleveland Guardians—recording 33 games (184⅓ innings) with 8 wins and 15 losses and an earned run average of 4.88.

As of 29th, Boston is in second place in the American League East with a record of 16 wins and 14 losses. Attention is focused on whether Giolito can help the starting rotation as they chase the first-place New York Yankees.

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