GLENDALE, Ariz. — Lucas Giolito expressed frustration and disappointment Wednesday over having to go through the arbitration process with the White Sox after the two sides, $200,000 apart in their filings Tuesday, failed to make a settlement.
Giolito, arguably the ace of the White Sox staff and their Opening Day starter last season, filed for $7.5 million. The Sox filed at $7.3 million. Giolito said the difference was actually $50,000.
“Very frustrating,” Giolito said at the team’s spring training complex at Camelback Ranch. “I love White Sox fans and I appreciated all the love from those guys [on social media] last night. It’s just very unfortunate, disheartening.”
The Sox had three players eligible for arbitration. Outfielder Adam Engel avoided it with a $2 million agreement and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez avoided arbitration with a $2.625 million deal.
Giolito, who earned $4.15 million in his first year of arbitration last season, will be eligible for free agency after the 2023 season. He will likely go elsewhere if he doesn’t sign an extension.
“Like I’ve always said about extensions, I absolutely love this team,” he said. “For me, the more I play the more I understand my value as a player. And I just want fair. It’s always fair for me, that’s where I’m at.”
After posting a 6.13 ERA and walking 90 batters in 2018, numbers that classified him as arguably the worst starting pitcher in baseball, Giolito bounced back in a big way, finishing sixth, seventh and 11th in AL Cy Young voting the last three seasons. He has an All-Star Game appearance and no-hitter on his resume and is one of the biggest and brightest personalities on a team full of them.
“Honestly, I love this team — you guys how I know how I feel about this team and for it to come down to a 50K difference prior to the filing, it’s like, ‘Come on,’ ’’ Giolito, the team’s player representative, said. “It’s an upsetting part of the process. It’s why a lot of us don’t enjoy the business side of the process.
“You want to enjoy the fun stuff but I guess that’s just part of the process.”
Because of the lockout, hearings for arbitration cases will take place during the season. The Sox historically have a good track record of settling cases and avoiding the hearing process, which can become contentious.
“At that point it’s out of your hands and I am able to focus on the team and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Giolito said. “It has no effect on that whatsoever. I’m always going to give 100 percent for the guys behind me and we’re trying to do something special this year.
“It was just frustrating. You want to get something fair done and it’s unfortunate this is the spot we’re in today.”
