Should Seattle Mariners Claim Lucas Giolito from Angels?

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim thought that going all in at the trade deadline on a playoff push was the right direction for the franchise in the final year of Shohei Ohtani's contract. However their all in push at the trade deadline has been a massive flop and Jeff Passan of ESPN announced via Twitter that the Angels were placing multiple players who the Angels just traded for on waivers for other teams to claim.

All of these players are proven big leaguers who have had success in their careers and even at times this season, but the Angels have struggled mightily as of late, falling out of playoff contention effectively. So the question is, does claiming Lucas Giolito make sense for the Seattle Mariners as they stare down a stressful month as they look to claim the American League West division crown?

Lucas Giolito is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent at the end of the year and he is due to make about two million dollars the final month of the season. That money should not be a problem for the Mariners.

Before being dealt to the Angels, Giolito was having a very strong year for the Chicago White Sox. He pitched 121 innings in 21 starts and had a 3.79 ERA and a FIP of 4.45. Those are pretty solid numbers for a starting pitcher. They certainly aren't elite, but they are not awful. They are actually comparable to a current Mariners starter who has an ERA of 3.90 and a FIP of 3.70. Those are Bryce Miller's numbers in 101.2 innings, close to Giolito's Chicago numbers.

However since being traded to the Angels, Giolito has not been as good. In six starts he has allowed 25 earned runs in 32.2 innings. However his last four starts have been solid. He went six innings and allowed three runs, six innings and gave up four runs, six innings and allowed just one run, and then went five and two thirds innings and gave up five. He is one and four in those starts and he did not win the start that he allowed one run.

Those last four starts have been serviceable and he has given the Angels a chance to win those games. Going six innings and giving up less than four runs is valuable and could help the Mariners. Seattle could be in a sticky situation if Bryan Woo needs to get shut down or moved to a bullpen role to limit his innings and with Emerson Hancock getting injured in Houston the team is really stretched thin with its pitching depth.

Adding Giolito would give the Mariners a very experienced pitcher to add to their rotation and they could feel a lot better about their pitching depth down the stretch. With rosters expanding on September 1, adding another starter could give the Mariners the chance to go with a six man rotation for a few weeks like they planned. Giolito would not have to have pressure on him like there was with the Angels because there are so many other starting pitchers ahead of him.

It is clear that his time in a halos jersey has been less than ideal for Giolito. He also was on a White Sox team that underperformed around him and maybe coming to Seattle where the team is in contention for a playoff spot would be a good thing for the 29-year-old. Maybe working with Pete Woodworth and the Mariners organization could help bring something out of him that we weren't seeing with the Angels.

Claiming Giolito is a low risk move that could pay off big and take pressure off the Mariners young starting pitchers and he could help Seattle push towards the playoffs for a second consecutive season. There are teams ahead of the Mariners in the waiver order that could claim him. Waivers run in reverse order of record and the Mariners currently have the 26th waiver priority. Hopefully Lucas Giolito makes it to Seattle's turn and they can claim the right-handed starting pitcher.