Angels News: Writer Thinks Lucas Giolito Will Be ‘Deadline Bust’ for Halos
There's no getting around it. This past week was an incredibly momentous week for the Los Angeles Angels.
The Halos went away from what had been their usual strategy of, for lack of a better way of putting it, relying on two superstars in Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout to carry a team of 26 men to postseason glory.
That, as expected, never worked out, and the Angels are still looking for their first playoff appearance since 2014.
But something became different about this 2023 team, and the Halos found themselves on a hot streak that gave them legitimate playoff aspirations.
Still, it was a question whether the Angels front office would go full bore toward the team's postseason push or tear it all down with the likelihood of a historic return for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Well, the Halos hung on to Ohtani and gave him a reinforcement in the rotation with Lucas Giolito, along with bolstering the bullpen with Reynaldo Lopez.
It was a clear sign that the Angels were all in on the here and now, with Ohtani, eventually Mike Trout, and their new acquisition in Giolito leading the way.
But will the high-profile acquisition of Giolito fall flat?
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller believes it will, providing the starter's home and away splits as evidence.
"Because in 2023, Road Giolito and Home Giolito have been about as similar as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
At Guaranteed Rate Field, Giolito has made 10 starts with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He’d be one of the front-runners for the AL Cy Young if he was pitching that well in all venues.However, in 11 starts away from home, Giolito has been rocked to the tune of a 5.25 ERA and 1.58 WHIP."
I can at least see the point he's trying to make here. That because Giolito was poor away from the southside of Chicago, he'll probably be that way in Anaheim. But I don't see much correlation there.
Yes, Giolito has been inconsistent at times this year, but he wasn't brought over to the Angels to be their ace. His role with his new team will be to be a capable second or third arm in the rotation, and he's provided more than enough proof both this year and through his career that he can definitely fill that role.
He pitched well in his debut last weekend, locating well with the exception of giving up two home runs. And for his first start with his new team and in a new role, he put up a solid outing against a formidable Toronto Blue Jays lineup.
As long as he does more of the same and keeps the long ball down, he'll be doing just what the Angels need him to do, far from the designation of a "deadline bust."
