'I grew up here as a player and as a man': Why Giolito is sad to be leaving White Sox
Coming out of the shower after Wednesday night's miserable loss to the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field, Lucas Giolito was taken aback when he spotted Reynaldo Lopez hugging teammates in the White Sox's clubhouse.
“It was definitely a little shocking,” Giolito said Thursday afternoon. “I saw Lopey and he was dabbing guys up. I was like, 'You got traded, Lope? Where are you going?'”
“Anaheim.”
“Oh my God.”
As it turned out, Lopez was not the only White Sox pitcher traded to the Angels.
“I got dressed and I got called in the office and I was in the same trade,” Giolito said. “So I guess they are not going to break us up.”
Giolito and Lopez are both 29 years old, they both started their professional careers with the Nationals in 2012 and they both were traded (along with Dane Dunning) to the Sox in the 2016 deal that sent outfielder Adam Eaton to Washington.
Now, they're off to the Angels.
In a trade announced late Wednesday night, the White Sox got two of Los Angeles' top prospects for Giolito and Lopez, who are eligible for free agency after the season.
Switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero hit .245/.385/.332 with 3 home runs and 35 RBI in 69 games with Class AA Rocket City this season. Baseball America ranked the 20-year-old Quero as Los Angeles' No. 2 prospect.
Ky Bush was 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA in 6 starts for Rocket City. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound lefty was the Angels' No. 4 prospect as rated by Baseball America.
It was a nice little haul for a Sox team that looks to be heading toward another massive rebuild.
That didn't make trading Giolito and Lopez any easier for general manager Rick Hahn.
“These aren't just moves on the back of a baseball card,” Hahn said. “You have relationships with these guys. Lucas and Rey are two guys we brought in with the goal of winning together and over the course of our tenure here, there wasn't enough winning or as much winning as we had hoped. That's disappointing.”
It was particularly tough to say so long to Giolito.
In addition to pitching a no-hitter in 2020 and getting Cy Young Award votes for three straight years (2019-21), he was 59-52 with a 3.79 ERA and 993 strikeouts over 929 innings in his seven seasons with the White Sox.
“Initially, kind of shocking,” Giolito said. “I knew something like this was coming, but at the same time, when it actually happens, it is quite a surreal moment. Last night was my last game in the dugout as a White Sox.
“A lot of emotions. I grew up here as a player and as a man. A lot of failure and a lot of success. I owe this organization so much. This city, the fans, it's been an absolute pleasure.”
On a Sox team that hasn't come close to meeting high expectations, trades are expected at this time of the year.
“It's hard to put into words,” said Giolito, who was 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA this season. “It's very unfortunate. One of the first things that comes to mind is the injury bug that has plagued this team over the last few years. It's been hard to find a rhythm and consistency with all that kind of stuff going on.
“I'm always going to have the White Sox in my heart. I grew up here, so always going to be rooting for them.”
Now, Giolito gets to go back home to Southern California, be teammates with Shohei Ohtani and try to help the Angels make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
“Unbelievable,” Giolito said. “Being able to be his teammate, between (Ohtani) and Mike Trout, two of the best guys in the league, I'm very very excited. It's going to be a very, very fun kind of journey the next few months here.”
Giolito exited the Sox's clubhouse Thursday afternoon after giving rotation mate Dylan Cease one final hug. He's scheduled to make his first start for Los Angeles Friday night against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
“After talking with some of the guys over there in Anaheim, I like what they've got going on, the push they are trying to make,” Giolito said. “I'm excited to be a part of that, along with Reynaldo. Yeah, we'll see. I have a lot of names to learn and a lot of people to meet. I'm excited to get it going.”