Grading The Lucas Giolito Trade Six Months Later

The White Sox were extremely busy at the trade deadline last season, as they made a flurry of moves trading just about everyone they could get rid of that was an upcoming free agent. One of the first moves they made was the Lucas Giolito trade. As a fan favorite and a player who had some outstanding years on the White Sox, it was hard to see him go. 

But, luckily for the White Sox, they got a great haul in return and they look like they won that trade by a mile. 

The White Sox made a two for two deal with the Los Angeles Angels, also sending longtime White Sox pitcher Reynaldo Lopez along in the deal. The Angels sent over top-100 catching prospect Edgar Quero and pitching prospect Ky Bush. 

At the outset, many were pleased with the haul the White Sox got, as many people were high on Quero and others thought that Bush had the potential to be a decent back of the rotation arm. They also filled positions of need, as the White Sox needed a catching prospect and a left handed starter. 

Unluckily for the Angels, they would quickly become losers in this trade as things went south very quickly for them. 

Giolito would only make six starts for the Angels, throwing 30 innings and pitching to an abysmal 6.89 ERA. This was out of the ordinary for Giolito, as he was pitching pretty well for the White Sox before the trade. 

Lopez on the other hand, would pitch in 13 games for the Angels; pitching well, as he had a 2.77 ERA, but an inflated 1.5 WHIP. This was a solid start for Lopez, but the Angels clearly had no use for him anymore, as the Angels would release both Lopez and Giolito just one month after trading for them. 

Both lasted just one month on their new team, quickly giving up on the possibility of resigning either pitcher to a deal to keep them in Los Angeles. They would both be claimed by the Cleveland Guardians, finishing out the 2023 season trying to help them with a playoff push. 

On the other hand, the return for those players played pretty well for the White Sox. Quero would play better than he did with the Angels AA affiliate, as he hit .277 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. He also kept his walk and strikeout ratio close to even, which is super impressive for a hitter his age.

Bush did not fare as well after the trade, but he was coming off an injury. He has pitched a bit in Spring Training and looked solid, so hopefully he can build off that and have a strong season. There are not as many expectations for him, but if he turns into a major leaguer, that's a win in itself. 

At this point, the trade is an A+ for the White Sox. Gio and Lopez lasted less than a month while we have our potential catcher of the future. Hopefully things go well for Quero and Bush’s development, but at this point it is a no brainer that the White Sox won this trade.