Red Sox Decline Qualifying Offer to Giolito

The Boston Red Sox declined to extend a one-year, $22.05 million qualifying offer to starting pitcher Lucas Giolito on Thursday, allowing the 31-year-old right-hander to enter unrestricted free agency without draft pick compensation for any signing team. The move came after Giolito and the Red Sox mutually declined a $19 million option for 2026 earlier in the week, marking the end of his two-year stint with the club that began with a free-agent signing ahead of the 2024 season.

Giolito, a 10-year MLB veteran and 2019 All-Star with the Chicago White Sox, missed all of 2024 following reconstructive elbow surgery during spring training. He rebounded in 2025 with a solid performance that helped propel Boston to its first postseason appearance since 2021. In 26 starts, he went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA, 121 strikeouts and a 1.29 WHIP over 145 innings. His season featured a slow start, with an ERA near 5.00 through May, but he improved markedly in the summer months, posting a 2.89 ERA from June through August and a 2.51 mark over his final 19 outings.

However, Giolito's campaign ended on a sour note. After his final regular-season start on September 23 in Toronto, elbow soreness prompted...