Lucas Giolito recounts not knowing about waivers before Angels placed him on it: "Are they releasing us? What's happening?"
Although we love baseball, at the end of the day, the MLB is a business, something pitcher Lucas Giolito figured out on the fly. It was a difficult season for the pending free agent as he opened the year as a member of the Chicago White Sox before joining the Los Angeles Angels and, ultimately, the Cleveland Guardians.
It was during these series of moves that Lucas Giolito found out how exactly the MLB waiver wire works. At the MLB Trade Deadline, the Los Angeles Angels made a flurry of moves, including landing Giolito and his teammate Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox.
"The Angels traded away multiple top prospects for rental pieces just to release them to waivers a month later to save 7 million dollars, all while fumbling what would’ve been the greatest return for a rental ever. This is undoubtedly the single worst trade deadline in MLB History" - @YankeeWRLD
However, after it was clear that all of the Angels' moves did not change their fortunes, the team decided to drastically cut their payroll by placing several veterans on the waiver wire. Among those veterans was Lucas Giolito, who had no idea what it meant.
On a recent episode of Chris Rose Sports, Giolito hilariously recounted his confusion with the entire situation, admitting that he was clueless about how the waiver wire operated. "Are they releasing us? What's happening?", he told host Chris Rose, saying that he had to clarify matters with his agent.
"Lucas Giolito didn’t know what waivers were until he was placed on waivers" - @ChrisRoseSports
Lucas Giolito's disappointing season may hurt his free-agent market
Although Lucas Giolito has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his MLB career, his struggles to perform consistently have raised some red flags when it comes to the starting pitcher. There will likely be several teams that will be looking to sign the veteran. However, after another rough season, his next contract may not have the years or salary he desires.
Through 184.1 innings this season with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Cleveland Guardians, Giolito posted a disappointing 4.88 ERA with an 8-15 record and 204 strikeouts.