The San Diego Padres are turning to a familiar veteran arm for help, signing right-hander Lucas Giolito on Wednesday as their injury-hit rotation looks for reinforcements. The 31-year-old will begin his comeback tour in the Padres' minor-league system while the club carefully builds his workload with an eye on the big-league staff.
Deal details and what he did last year
Giolito agreed to a one-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2027, with the Padres openly casting the move as rotation insurance for the stretch run rather than a splashy headline grab. According to MLB.com, Giolito returned from elbow surgery and logged a 3.41 ERA in 26 starts for Boston in 2025, working 145 innings. That performance, paired with his four-pitch mix, is a big part of why San Diego believes he can slide in after a controlled ramp-up.
How the Padres plan to use him
The Padres are not tossing Giolito straight into the Petco Park spotlight. The plan is to let him build up in the minors before calling him to the Major League roster. Per MLB Trade Rumors, Giolito is slated to open at Low-A Lake Elsinore, and the club will have roughly 25 days from the signing to add him to the big-league roster. That report also outlined early financial terms — a modest prorated guarantee with escalators — underlining how the front office views this as a low-risk bet with a chance for real payoff.
Minor-league assignment confirmed
The paperwork has already caught up with the plan. MiLB's transaction log lists Giolito as signed by the Padres and optioned to the Lake Elsinore Storm, their Low-A affiliate. MiLB.com shows the move in its latest updates, giving San Diego a place to stretch out his innings without immediately using a Major League roster spot.
Why now: injuries and innings
The timing is not exactly a mystery. The Padres have seen their rotation spring leaks, particularly in elbows. Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove are sidelined for at least the coming weeks, and Griffin Canning is working back on a rehab timetable. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the Padres had been checking in on Giolito from spring training into the regular season as they weighed ways to cover innings and stabilize the staff.
Upside and risk
Giolito arrives with no shortage of experience, including an All-Star appearance and more than 200 career Major League outings, and he has a track record of handling a starter’s workload when healthy. If his arm bounces back, the Padres suddenly have a veteran who can soak up innings during a critical part of the season.
The flip side is hard to ignore: he missed all of 2024 after elbow surgery and did not get a traditional spring this year. The Padres are treating this as exactly what it looks like — a low-cost, potentially high-upside depth play rather than a guaranteed answer to every rotation problem. If the comeback version of Giolito looks anything like the 2025 one, though, San Diego’s gamble could look pretty savvy.
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