Lucas Giolito won’t get to bond with the newly-traded Chris Sale about swapping White Sox for Red Sox, but he’s already gotten to know one of his new teammates.

“I met him last offseason, and he’s a very talented kid,” Giolito said, when speaking to reporters over Zoom on Wednesday evening.

He was talking about none other than Vaughn Grissom, the infielder acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the shocking Sale trade on Dec. 30. The veteran starting pitcher and the barely-out-of-rookie-eligibility infielder are both represented by the same agency. Said agency put together a slew of workouts and events in Los Angeles, so Grissom flew out to partake. “(We) worked out together for a few days and I think we went to, like, a Lakers game or something like that,” Giolito recalled. “Looking forward to getting to know him better.”

Grissom made his Major League debut at Fenway Park – and hit his first career home run over the Green Monster – when the Braves paid the Red Sox a visit during the ’22 season, but didn’t have much room to grow with his former club. With Ozzie Albies and Orlando Arcia firmly ensconced at second base and shortstop, Grissom only accumulated 64 career games in the Majors, and only 23 in ’23. In Boston, however, the Red Sox see him taking over everyday duties at second base, and work in tandem with Trevor Story.

“I think that he’s gonna really come into his own, having that opportunity to play every day,” Giolito assessed.

Unlike Grissom, who’s joining Boston’s burgeoning young core, Giolito, at only 29 years old, is already one of his new team’s more veteran players. It’s a responsibility the latter doesn’t take lightly.

“It feels like yesterday I was a rookie,” Giolito said. “I’ve learned a lot from the veterans ahead of me.”

“I’m looking to, now that I’m at this point in my career, step into an organization and I just want to do everything I can to help this team win,” he continued. “And part of that is being a good teammate, and being a good vet to the younger guys. I know there’s a lot of good, really talented young pitchers on the team, so I’m looking to get to know them, develop relationships, help them in any way I can.

“No matter what it is, mental side of the game, physical side, you know, just being there, being a good teammate, that’s hugely important to me as a player. And I think that for a team to come together and have cohesion and win, you got to have that from top to bottom, veterans and the young guys.”

As to other potential additions the Red Sox need, Giolito was diplomatic, but clear. “I think there’s probably some more moves to be made, and I don’t think it’s really my place to say, you know, I just got here,” he said with a chuckle. “But yeah, I think that it’s going to be pretty exciting, put together a nice squad and once we get to spring training, start getting to work.”