Pitcher Lucas Giolito talks slimming down, expectations for White Sox
GLENDALE, Ariz. (CBS) – The Chicago White Sox are looking for a bounce-back season after missing the playoffs and that means different approaches this year for some players.
Pitcher Lucas Giolito falls firmly in that camp. He looked good on Sunday in his first spring start. A year ago, he intentionally bulked up physically but his earned run average also ballooned to almost five.
This season, he's shaved off some weight, and hopes his ERA slims down as well. CBS 2 Sports Director Marshall Harris caught up with Giolito at Camelback Ranch.
HARRIS: "Lucas, certainly you look different than when we saw you at the start of last season. How much weight have you dropped? And what was the impetus behind the body change?"
GIOLITO: "In comparison to when I came into the spring …last year in the high 270s (pounds). This year, I came in at like 245. I definitely dropped weight over the course of the season, but I still ended the season around like 265, or something like that. I just had like a very, very strict plan when it came to my offseason work. I got after it pretty quickly, you know, gym, (physical therapy), throwing stuff, very structured. I liked it that way for sure. This is more of like my natural weight so I feel like I'm carrying my body better. I feel a little more athletic. I feel like I can repeat movements better, and I can just, in general, move around better.
"Failure from last year serves as motivation, not just for me, but for our entire team, I'd say. You know a lot of us had down years personally. We did not even come close to living up to expectations. I think it was a lot of fuel to the fire."
HARRIS: "When you look at the season and expectations, a new manager in Pedro Grifol, which I hear is going swimmingly well from everyone I've talked to, what are the expectations? And how do they compare to last year coming off a couple of playoff appearances?"
GIOLITO: "So, what I really liked what Pedro had to say on day one was, we're not going to sit here on the first day of Spring Training and talk about 'Oh, the expectation is to win the World Series.' Obviously, that'd be great, but the expectation is, what can we do over the next five days to get better? And after that, the next five days, what can we do to get better? I think putting things in a more realistic goal sets on the short term, you kind of add those up and then it can lead to achieving those long-term type goals. I really, really liked that piece he had to say about it and I think that's kind of like the mentality we should take as a team."
HARRIS: "And as for you individually, anything specific that you've worked on that you feel like is going to be different about the way you pitch this year? Whether it's a pitch you've been working on? Mixing things up?"
GIOLITO: "I've been working on the curveball a bit. I got to give credit to my friend Max Fried. He showed me a grip of the curveball that has been working a lot better, a lot more consistent then my previous one, so I'm looking to mix that in a little bit more. To be kind of a true four-pitch pitcher, rather than just relying on the change-up and slider all the time."
Giolito was an All-Star back in 2019, but last year, was his worst season since. It's also a contract year for him. He's an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.