The right hand Lucas Giolito he remains a free agent a few weeks into the 2026 season. A report from Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal, Dennis Lin and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic today says Amawube and the Padres are showing interest in the righty.
Giolito, 31, has been the most notable unsigned free agent in a while now. Max Scherzer again Zack Littell signed in mid-March, leaving Giolito as the last member standing on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list from the start of the offseason.
He recently spoke about his experience with Rob Bradford of the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast. He said he has had discussions with a few teams but ended up not coming because of a disagreement about his salary. “I just want to play to get closer to what my value is,” Giolito told Bradford. “Everything is based on these models now. Everyone uses projection and models. My agency (CAA) does the same thing. When you look at models and projections (in terms of value), it’s like ‘okay, give me something close to that.’ Let’s go get it. I’m ready to go.”
Giolito is coming off a great season in terms of high-level numbers. He threw 145 innings for the Red Sox with a 3.41 earned run average. If teams have doubts about that, it may be because his .273 batting average on balls in play and 76.7% strand rate are both on the lucky side. His 19.7% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate were actually low. ERA ratings such as his 4.17 FIP and 4.65 SIERA felt that his ERA was fortunate by almost a full run.
That slowly continued the downward trend for him. He was a borderline ace from 2019 to 2021 but saw less results after that. His ERA was just under 5.00 in 2022 and 2023. He then missed 2024 while recovering from surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. It is not known what kind of salary Giolito would consider appropriate but it seems that he has not yet received an offer that he would consider appropriate. He signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal with the Red Sox through 2024, before that surgery.
In his latest comments, the righty added that he’s been throwing about 75 pitches by himself to stay close to game-ready. That is the same situation Patrick Corbin. The Jays signed Corbin because of some injuries. Corbin has been taking it easy and only needs a minor league start before joining the big league club, even though he missed spring training.
For the Cubs and Padres, it’s understandable that they would look at what’s available, given their recent injuries. Chicago’s circulation has contributed greatly recently, as Late Horton‘s season ended with UCL surgery. They put again Matthew Boyd on the injured list with the least problem, biceps problems. They are still waiting Justin Steelewho is recovering from UCL surgery last year.
They currently have a changing team that includes Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad again Colin Rea. Assad has options and started the season in the minors while Rea started in the bullpen. Both moved up the depth chart when Horton and Boyd were injured. If Giolito is added to the mix, Assad could be re-elected and/or Rea could be relegated to a relief role. Boyd’s immediate health may influence decision-making.
On the financial side of things, both RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts have slightly more competitive balance sheets. A report from The Athletic says that the Cubs plan to pay the tax this year, so they don’t have to worry about increasing their numbers a bit.
For the Padres, their rotation depth has been an ongoing problem for years and 2026 is no exception. At the weekend, Nick Pivetta he was out early due to elbow stiffness. Joe Musgrove he has not returned from his 2024 Tommy John surgery. Griffin Canning he is still working his way back from an Achilles injury last year. Matt Waldron required a minor procedure during spring training and began the season on the injured list.
Unless the Pivetta issue proves to be minor, the Friars have a mixed rotation Michael King, Randy Vásquez, Walker Buehler again German Marquez. Both Waldron and Canning have started rehab assignments and could be active soon but that won’t solve everything as Buehler and Márquez have posted lackluster results so far. JP Sears he’s on the 40-man roster but it would be nice to keep him in Triple-A as depth. Marco Gonzales again Triston McKenzie they are in the minor leagues but Gonzales has a 7.90 ERA through three Triple-A starts while McKenzie has a 13.50 ERA at that level so far this year.
Adding Giolito may make sense from a baseball perspective but a report from The Athletic notes that the ongoing trade process could be a snag. The Seidler family is desperately trying to sell the business. Even if they can get a deal done quickly, it still has to be approved by the league. Current owners may be reluctant to add more money to the books while that process is underway.
It is also possible that other clubs could jump into the mix. The Astros have lost three rotation members to the IL in recent days and may feel compelled to add another arm. The Orioles just lost Zach Eflin in UCL surgery. The Reds have it Hunter Greene again Nick Lodolo in IL at the moment. Some injuries are bound to occur.
Photo courtesy of David Butler II, Imagn Images
