3 Perfect Fits for Free Agent Starting Pitcher Lucas Giolito

It’s rare that relatively talented free agent pitchers are still available over a week after a season has begun. Yet that’s exactly the case when it comes to currently unemployed starting pitcher Lucas Giolito.

The veteran of nine MLB seasons was once a promising young pitcher for the White Sox, garnering AL Cy Young votes from 2019-21. However, poor performance in following seasons, as well a lost 2024 to UCL surgery, required a stint with the Red Sox last year to rebuild his value.

And that’s exactly what happened. Giolito put up his best season in years, going 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.290 WHIP. His strikeout numbers were down from his career average (7.5 K/9 versus 9.3), but so was his OPS allowed (.685 OPS versus .727).

Giolito declined his side of a mutual contract option for 2026 and took a chance on himself in free agency. Up to this point, that decision hasn’t paid off for him. His 2.0 fWAR in 2025 was the ninth best of any starting pitcher on the market last offseason, and yet he remains unsigned.

But he might not remain that way for long. With the regular season having just passed the one-week mark, there are number of teams already showing that they could greatly use his services. Here are a few of the most logical landing spots.

San Diego Padres

Arguably the most obvious landing spot for Giolito is the Padres. The team got a decent start out of ace Nick Pivetta on Thursday to improve to 2-4 on the season, but the unit is still inspiring little confidence moving forward at the moment.

San Diego got by with an average rotation in 2025, finishing 16th in MLB in starters ERA at a combined 4.07. Though he didn’t have his best season, the rotation saw a big loss in talent when Dylan Cease left for the Blue Jays in free agency.

With Pivetta, Michael King, and Randy Vásquez returning from the 2025 rotation and Joe Musgrove still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, the Padres filled out the rotation by signing veterans Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez.

Early on, the new plan has produced underwhelming results. Padres starters have a 4.50 ERA through the first six games, ninth worst in MLB. And even though it’s early, there are questions all across the rotation.

Has Pivetta actually bounced back from his three-inning, six-run Opening Day performance, or is regression inbound? Can King look like his pre-injury self? On that note, what will Musgrove look like when he returns? And can Buehler or Márquez ever look remotely close to what they did at their peaks?

With so much uncertainty attached to the rotation, a timely reinforcement could work wonders. They should strike while the iron is hot and make their move ASAP.

Atlanta Braves

Unlike the Padres, the Braves certainly don’t suffer from lack of talent in the starting rotation. Their problem is that a good portion of that talent is currently injured.

Atlanta could build a competitive rotation off of their injured list alone. Ace Spencer Strider started the season on the IL with an oblique strain. Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both had arthroscopic surgery in February and won’t be back until the summer. AJ Smith-Shawver is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and may or may not pitch this season.

Braves starters have begun the season strong. Former Cy Young winner Chris Sale spun a gem in his first start. Three other starters have combined for four earned runs in their starts, which has helped the team get off to a 4-2 start this season.

There could end up being some regression to the mean coming, though. While the unit’s combined ERA of 2.48 is fourth best in the early going, their 3.81 FIP ranks just 15th.

As well as the Braves rotation has performed to kick things off in 2026, it’s nowhere close to operating at full strength. Also, one more injury and it could quickly come crumbling down.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are another team with a starting rotation off to a good start but also ravaged by injuries. They’re also a team that has experienced firsthand how tough things can start to get when an already depleted rotation gets hit by another injury.

Coming off a runner up finish in an exciting World Series, Toronto made some free agent signings in an attempt to get back to the championship series in 2026. One of their most notable acquisitions was two-time Cy Young winner Dylan Cease.

That was supposed to help a rotation that finished in the bottom third of the league in starters ERA (4.34) make a big leap forward. But like the Braves, they are down multiple key starting pitchers going into the season.

2025 contributors Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, and Bowden Francis all started the season on the IL. Then, with the rotation already stretched thin, offseason acquisition Cody Ponce sprained his ACL in his MLB first start since 2021.

The difference between the Blue Jays and Braves is that the Jays can expect some reinforcements much sooner. Bieber, Berríos, and Yesavage have chances to return anywhere from late April to early May.

But Toronto has already seen what happens when you play the waiting game and the AL East isn’t a division where you want to lose ground hoping things will get better soon. They’ve already shown financial commitment toward another title run, so a Giolito signing wouldn’t be out of the question.