RADIO
Lucas Giolito Declines his 2026 Player Option
Boston Red Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (elbow) will decline his side of the mutual option with the team for the 2026 season, a source told Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. The Red Sox must now decide whether they will extend a one-year, $22 million qualifying offer to Giolito. The veteran hurler will receive a $1.5 million buyout after he declined his $19 million option for next year. Giolito bounced back this year following an internal-brace procedure on his right elbow that kept him out for the entire 2024 season. In 26 starts in Beantown, he went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 121 strikeouts and 56 walks in 145 innings pitched. His strong bounce-back season ended prematurely, though, when he developed elbow soreness in the final month of the regular season. How many suitors Gioloto has on the open market this winter will depend on his injury prognosis going into spring training.
Source: The Boston Globe - Alex Speier
Source: The Boston Globe - Alex Speier
