Column: Lucas Giolito wants to stay with Chicago White Sox. He also knows ‘the future is really uncertain’ as the trade deadline nears.

It wasn’t all that long ago the Chicago White Sox had a young group of starters that seemingly would keep them in contention for years.

Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning, Reynaldo López and Michael Kopech were all top prospects acquired in December 2016, while Dylan Cease joined the organization the following summer from the Chicago Cubs in the Eloy Jiménez-José Quintana trade. Former first-round pick Carlos Rodón had begun to establish himself and was considered a future star if he could stay healthy.

Some combination of those six pitchers would be around for years.

But plans have been known to go awry, and if the Sox deal Giolito at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, only Kopech and Cease would remain in the rotation with López in the bullpen.

Giolito, who starts Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals to end the first half, could be making his final start in a Sox uniform at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Sox open the second half with a nine-game trip and return home only a week before the deadline.

As much as Giolito would prefer to ignore the possibility when he takes the mound, he can’t completely shut those thoughts out of his mind.

“They’re there,” he told the Tribune on Friday in a conversation in the Sox dugout. “I’ve made it clear that I don’t want to go anywhere, but it’s out of my control. With experience and years in this game and maturity, you learn to separate things that are in your control and out of your control.

“I know that in the past when I was worried about things out of my control, I usually failed. It’s very important to separate those things and focus on my work, like my bullpen that I just did, and keeping my body in shape, keeping my mind right. Going out and performing the best I can, being a good teammate, those are things I can control.

“Enjoying my time in Chicago, and whatever happens, happens.”

Giolito was coming off a poor season in 2022, posting a 4.90 ERA, and the sides never seemed to have any reason to get an extension done. The Sox wanted him to prove 2022 was an aberration after three straight solid seasons from 2019-21. They’ve been reluctant to hand out long-term deals to starters, letting Rodón go after his best season in 2021.

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Giolito was confident he would rebound and could see how much lesser starters had made in free agency last offseason. He made a bet on himself, and so far it has paid off. He enters Sunday’s start with a 3.50 ERA — including a 3.14 mark over his last 13 starts — and 112 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings. And he usually heats up with the weather, which has been cooler than normal this summer.

After watching the Sox go from a playoff team in 2020 and ‘21 to one of the most underachieving teams in the majors, why does he want to stay?

“Because I love this team and I love this city,” he said. “I know that I’m a free agent after this year, so the future is really uncertain. I could be anywhere, depending on how free agency goes. I’ve been here a few years and really enjoy it. I love every guy in that clubhouse and the coaching staff. This is like home to me.”

The Sox could always keep Giolito and try to re-sign him after the season. But with the shape of their minor-league system, it makes sense to get something for him now and not risk losing him for nothing but a draft pick in return.

It would be a shame to lose Giolito, who always has represented the Sox well and rose from being one of the worst starters in the game in 2018 to an All-Star in 2019.

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It’s hard enough to attract quality free agents to the South Side, and dealing someone who wants to stay would seem counterproductive to what the Sox are trying to build.

But that’s the way baseball is, and Giolito will fit in wherever he lands.

Whether the window of opportunity for the Sox to win could be closing with a sell-off is a question no one can answer.

“You can look around and see the talent that’s going to be here,” Kopech said. “There may be some guys that may not be here with us, but we know right now they’re helping us. The collective group that we’ve had, we all know what we’re capable of. Unfortunately we haven’t lived up to those expectations that we hold ourselves to, but I think that’s still a very real possibility.”

Giolito, part of the original core from the rebuild, might not be around to find out whether that window remains open. But he doesn’t think Sox fans should base their optimism about the future on the struggles of 2023.

“I always believe it’s open until it’s not,” he said. “Obviously it has been a rough season. This last series (against the Toronto Blue Jays) was pretty brutal.

“I’ve seen us all play to the best of our capability, every guy in this room. If we can all do it at the same time, we can win a lot of games. I like to keep a positive outlook and I’m going to go out there and give it my best effort every single time.

“I always believe there is a chance until there isn’t.”