Braves Urged To Fill Pitching Need With Free Agent Starter

For teams in need, some say there's a perfectly viable major league starter still out there on the free agent market. With a 3.41 ERA last season, 10-4 record, and a couple of Top 10 Cy Young finishes on his resume, many wonder why Lucas Giolito is still unsigned.

According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, there's a team that needs to go get him, asap.

The Atlanta Braves' rotation was hit (this spring) by elbow injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep, and there's no good reason they shouldn't make a play for Lucas Giolito, who shockingly is still available.

Heyman feels the Braves absolutely need to pivot to the nine-year veteran arm.

The Braves will be going into the season with Chris Sale as their No. 1 starter, and former Cy Young contender and 20-game winner Spencer Strider in the 2-slot. If Strider can regain his pre-elbow surgery (internal brace procedure) form, that's a nice one-two punch. But after that, there are other questions. The rotation is stretched thin early in the season, with multiple pitchers coming off injuries.

Here's why Giolito remains unsigned

Now, we must add that while it sounds good to add Giolito, there's a reason he remains unsigned. Teams are concerned about his injury past as well. He suffered a late-season elbow injury in 2025 after missing all of 2024 following an internal brace procedure of his own. Additionally, his fastball velocity dropped before he went out in September, raising concerns about his durability and effectiveness.

If Giolito is actually seeking a contract north of $10M, as some reports suggest, that might be too hefty of a risk. The Braves might as well take a chance on their own recovering pitchers.

For instance, Reynaldo López and Grant Holmes are both attempting to prove they can be healthy and productive members of the Braves’ rotation, and they would occupy the Nos. 3 & 4 starter roles potentially. Lopez pitched just one game last season before going down for the year with a shoulder injury. But in 2024, he posted a remarkable 1.99 ERA in 25 starts for Atlanta.

Giolito, now 31, has a career ERA of 4.30 in 204 starts. He was an All-Star for the Chicago White Sox in 2019.