Lucas Giolito, who will become a free agency soon, was anticipated to be among the top players traded this summer.
Trade of Lucas Giolito
The Chicago White Sox revealed that they have traded reliever Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for right-handed starting Lucas Giolito. Catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush are given to the White Sox in exchange.
The significant transaction happened just hours after it was revealed that the Angels won’t trade two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani before the trade deadline on August 1.
Giolito, 29, has made 21 starts so far this season, recording a 3.79 ERA (116 ERA+) and a 3.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was first traded to the White Sox by the Washington Nationals in December 2016 as part of a larger deal that sent outfielder Adam Eaton to the Nationals in exchange for a package that also included fellow right-handed pitchers Dane Dunning and the aforementioned López.
Giolito only participated in one All-Star Game while he was a White Sox. Nevertheless, he was considered for the Cy Young Award three times, most recently in 2021, when he placed 11th. Giolito joins an Angels rotation that has had issues this year, even though they are above 500 and in contention for the last AL wild-card place. In 43 appearances for Chicago this season, López has pitched out of the bullpen, recording a 4.29 ERA and a 2.36 K/BB ratio. He is similarly available for free agency in the upcoming offseason like Giolito is.
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Bush has had trouble this season in eight starts, although he was limited earlier in the year by various injuries.
A recent Futures Game participant, 20-year-old Cuban prospect Quero was listed by Baseball Prospectus as one of the top 100 prospects overall heading into the current season. Despite being considerably younger than his Double-A colleagues this season, he has put up strong offensive performances and improved his defensive play.