Which Teams Could Make a Run at a Three-Time Cy Young Vote Getter Who’s Still Unsigned?
Opening Day is right around three weeks away, and the remaining free agent market is rather slim pickings. That’s not to say that there still aren't some viable options left for clubs looking to improve their team ahead of the start of the season. The remaining starting pitching market has been rather picked through as we’ve seen the likes of Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Michael King, and several others sign lucrative contracts. There are still a handful of starters left in free agency that could provide rotation help to major league teams.
31-year-old right-hander Lucas Giolito is the biggest name left in free agency that’s yet to find a home. He is a free agent for the second time in his career. The former White Sox, Angels, Guardians, and Red Sox hurler signed a two-year, $38 million deal with Boston the first time he hit the open market. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal reported that he is seeking at least a $10 million salary for the 2026 season. It should come as somewhat of a surprise that no team has been willing to meet that price point yet. The six-foot-six right-hander had an excellent bounce-back season last year with Boston after missing the entire 2024 season due to an elbow injury. The 2025 season was the first time he pitched in a Red Sox uniform; he had an ERA below 3.50 for the first time in a full season since 2019, when he finished sixth in Cy Young voting with the White Sox. The 2012 first-round pick ended up finishing the season with a 3.41 ERA, making 26 starts totaling 145 innings.
Giolitio turned into a different type of pitcher last season than he had been previously in his career. He ended up having some of the lowest strikeout numbers of his career with just a 7.5 K/9, and he also issued plenty of free passes with a 3.6 BB/9. He still found a way to be an effective pitcher, though; a big reason for his success was his .219 opponent batting average with RISP. The California native did a very solid job limiting runs despite pitching at Fenway Park, one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball.
In terms of who could still bring in Giolito, the Atlanta Braves are a team that’s gotten a lot of speculation about bringing in another starter. It’s been a tough start to the spring so far for the Braves, injury-wise, especially in the starting pitching department. The team has already had to announce season-ending injuries for young righties AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep, and Spencer Schwellenbach. All three were supposed to be contributors in the Braves' rotation for 2026, especially Schwellenbach. The 25-year-old had gotten off to a fantastic start to his major league career with a 3.23 ERA in his first 38 big league starts. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos is already known to be one of the more aggressive GMs in baseball, so it wouldn't come as a shock to see him bring in some rotation help to address their recent injuries to the staff.
Another team that has suffered some tough injury luck with its starting pitching group is the Minnesota Twins. Pablo Lopez, who was supposed to lead the Twins staff along with Joe Ryan and was also the team’s highest-paid player, recently underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a UCL tear, which will cause him to miss the entire 2026 season. Six-foot-six right-hander David Festa also suffered a shoulder injury that will cause him to begin the season on the injured list. He was supposed to compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training. Twins fans have already been very vocal about their frustrations with ownership cutting payroll, so signing Giolito could be a good way to combat recent injuries and prove to the fan base that they are invested in building a winning roster.
The one team that actually has confirmed interest in Giolito is the Phillies. They won’t have all-star left-hander Ranger Suarez in the rotation this season for the first time since the 2020 season. Philadelphia will also be without 2024 Cy Young finalist Zack Wheeler at the beginning of the season. Wheeler is targeting a return towards the end of April or the beginning of May due to a blood clot. The Phillies rotation will surely include Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, and Aaron Nola on Opening Day, but it’s an open competition this spring for those last two spots. It’s no shock that a team that expects to compete for a World Series next season, like the Phillies, would be interested in bringing in an established starter like Giolito to supplement their rotation.
Opening Day is fast approaching, and there are several teams still dealing with uncertainty in their starting rotation. The three teams previously mentioned all currently have some sort of injury within their starting pitching group, but there are certainly still some teams that would like to add to their rotations even without current injury troubles. The 162-game MLB season is a grind, and you can never have too much starting pitching. Giolito still being unsigned is a unique opportunity for a club to add a former all-star and Cy Young vote-getter on what would presumably be a low-risk, one-year contract.
