Lucas Giolito is on the move.
The Chicago White Sox traded the right-handed pitcher to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday along with reliever Reynaldo López for minor-league switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush.
“Given this club’s performance over the course of the last several months, it’s apparent that these types of moves have to take place given where we’re at and putting us in the best position we can be going forward,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said.
A free agent at the end of the season, Giolito is 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 21 starts.
Giolito and López joined the Sox organization in December 2016 as part of a trade that sent Adam Eaton to the Washington Nationals.
“Obviously Lucas’ and Reynaldo’s tenure with the White Sox is not ending in the way we envisioned when we first acquired them,” Hahn said.
Giolito struggled in 2018 with a 6.13 ERA, but put it all together the next season to earn All-Star honors while going 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA and 228 strikeouts.
He received American League Cy Young Award votes in 2019, ‘20 and ‘21. Among the highlights in 2020, Giolito threw a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He was the team’s Game 1 starter in the 2020 AL wild-card series against the Oakland Athletics, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning. He started Game 2 of the 2021 AL Division Series against the Houston Astros.
Giolito rebounded after a tough 2022 to become one of the most sought-after pitchers on the trade market. Now he has his destination.
López is 2-5 with a 4.29 ERA and four saves in 43 relief appearances this season. He has 52 strikeouts, 22 walks and has allowed seven homers in 42 innings.
He appeared in 205 games with the Sox from 2017-23, making 91 starts. He was a starter from 2017–2020, mostly used as a reliever in 2021 and has been an option out of the bullpen in ’22 and this season.
“They will both certainly be missed and certainly both can help make that Angels team better positioned for hopefully a postseason run for both of them,” Hahn said.
Quero, 20, is rated by MLB.com as the No. 2 prospect in the Angels organization and No. 65 overall in baseball. He is slashing .245/.385/.332 with 13 doubles, three home runs, 35 RBIs, 39 runs and 54 walks in 69 games this season with Double-A Rocket City in the Southern League.
Bush, 23, is rated by MLB.com as the No. 3 prospect in the Angels system. He is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA and 33 strikeouts in six starts this season with Rocket City. Over his last three outings, Bush is 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 17 strikeouts.
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