The Red Sox always planned on letting Lucas Giolito hit the open market in some fashion. The club’s decision not to pick up the mutual option on Giolito contract for the 2026 season by all means told you as much.

But the Red Sox made another notable decision on the Giolito front Thursday, when they decided not to extend a qualifying offer his way ahead of free agency. Had Giolito been extended a qualifying offer, which checked in at just over $22 million, the Red Sox would’ve been in line for a compensation pick from the team that signed him away from the Red Sox.

In other words, the 31-year-old Giolito is as free as a free agent can be.

After missing all of the 2024 season due to UCL surgery in his throwing elbow, Giolito put together a solid season for the Red Sox this past year, with a 10-4 record, 3.41 ERA, and 121 strikeouts in 145 innings pitched over 26 starts. Giolito’s 2025 season marked the first time that the righty hit double-digit wins since 2022, and his aforementioned 3.41 ERA was his best single-season figure on that front since a matching 3.41 ERA in 2019. 

Not exactly known for overpowering hitters with his fastball, Giolito had strong results with his secondary stuff in 2025, namely his slider and changeup. He also cut down on the homers that haunted him in his 2023 run between Cleveland and Chicago, going from 31 home runs allowed in 151.2 innings down to 17 in his 145 with the Red Sox this past season.

But Giolito’s elbow issues returned late in the season, and were enough to remove him from the Boston rotation late in the season, and ultimately keep him out of the club’s wild card round series with the Yankees.

What’s notable here, of course, is that the Red Sox could’ve been on the hook to pay Giolito that $22 million salary in 2027 had he been offered a qualifying offer and accepted it. It tends not to play out that way for most in the free agency market, but the risk was certainly there, especially if teams were a bit wary of Giolito and his injury woes, and wouldn’t allow him to make as much money on a longer-term deal. Most projections, for what it’s worth, have Giolito in line for a contract worth somewhere between $15 and $19 million per year and on a relatively short two or three-year contract.

Whether or not the Red Sox circle back on Giolito and try to hammer out a new deal to keep him in town remains to be seen.

The Joe Ryan rumors have loomed over this club for what feels like a full year now, and it’s entirely possible that the Red Sox want someone who projects as more of a true No. 2 to put behind ace Garrett Crochet. The Red Sox also got a late-season look at guys like Connelly Early and Payton Tolle in 2025, and they may not want to roadblock them with a mid-tier option like Giolito.

Overall, only six MLB starting pitchers were extended qualifying offers by their respective clubs on Thursday. That list includes the Astros’ Framber Valdez, San Diego’s Dylan Cease and Michael King, Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, Arizona’s Zac Gallen, and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga.Â