For a brief moment and I mean very brief, the Chicago Cubs were linked to Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito. Prior to the All-Star break the Cubs reportedly had their eyes on Giolito, but you can pretty much kiss that notion goodbye. The Red Sox, who play the Cubs at Wrigley Field coming out of the All-Star Game, are the hottest team in baseball and MLB insiders now view them as aggressive buyers at the trade deadline.
The Red Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, extending their winning streak to 10 games. Boston is now in the second Wild Card spot in the American League and only trail the Toronto Blue Jays by three games for first place in the AL East. So yeah, they’re not thinking about trading away any valuable pieces from their team now, which includes Giolito.
Giolito has been elite during his last six starts, recording a 0.70 ERA since June 10. The right-handed pitcher has given up a total of three earned runs during this dominant span, while recording 37 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.
Overall in 2025, Giolito is down to a 3.36 ERA in 13 starts. The 31-year-old missed the entire 2024 season with the Red Sox after undergoing surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow. Giolito returned to the mound at the end of April with Boston and has really shaken off the rust following his first few starts of the 2025 season.
It would have been nice to have Giolito as a potential trade target at the end of July if you’re the Cubs, but now that the Red Sox are back in the playoff mix analysts believe they’ll be adding rather than subtracting.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan was on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday and didn’t mince his words on what the Red Sox plan to do in the following couple of weeks.
"The Red Sox are gonna add before the trade deadline..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 14, 2025
They are legitimate World Series contenders"@JeffPassan #ProgrumSummerRoadTrip https://t.co/4kDWpCk0ze pic.twitter.com/53NufgW2z2
“Aroldis Chapman’s going nowhere, Alex Bregman’s going nowhere,” Passan said. “They’re going to add, and if they get another starting pitcher who can be at the top of that rotation with Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello pitching so well, Lucas Giolito — the Boston Red Sox are legitimate World Series contenders.”
So, instead of the Cubs potentially looking at Giolito as a contributor in their starting rotation down the stretch they’ll now have to compete with the Red Sox in the trade market for a quality starting pitcher.
There is a slight chance that the Red Sox could have a change of mind at the deadline because their first nine games after the break come against the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, who are each at least 14 games above .500. Still, because the American League is so weak this year even a bad couple weeks for the Red Sox won’t bury them in the standings and most likely won’t make Boston’s front office go into sell mode.
As the Cubs continue to search for another starting pitcher you’ll likely see the same names come up in trade rumors during the next two weeks. Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Edward Cabrera and Mitch Keller are among the most popular pitchers linked to the Cubs during the past month. The Cubs will also have their eyes on a few AL teams, hoping the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals fall out of contention, so that a few more starters will be made available in trade talks.
