Jordan Hicks reminds SF Giants how he should've been used all along with dominant White Sox Wild Card outings

There has been a lot of chatter this year about the things Kyle Harrison did after the SF Giants sent him to the Boston Red Sox in the Rafael Devers trade. Not as much attention has been paid to pitcher Jordan Hicks, who the Giants were probably relieved to get rid of in the Devers deal but has now turned back into a really solid reliever with the Chicago White Sox.

Hicks pitched in both Game 1 and Game 2 of Chicago’s easy sweep of the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card series. He looked great, recording four outs without allowing a run in Game 1 and then pitching two scoreless innings while striking out three in Game 2 to help Chicago move on to the ALDS.

Seeing him pitch so well as a reliever is a reminder than San Francisco’s plan to utilize him as a starting pitcher in both 2024 and 2025 was flawed from the jump after they signed him to that four-year, $44 million deal.

Now, to be fair Hicks signed with the Giants because they were willing to give him a shot as a starter, much like Luis Arraez signed with the Giants on the understanding that he’d be given a shot at second base.

It was an interesting experiment since Hicks had been used as a hard-throwing reliever pretty much his entire big league career, and at first it looked like a brilliant gamble. Hicks pitched great as a starter in his first month with San Francisco, but as the season went on it was clear that he ran out of gas and his velocity dropped. By the summer he was back to being a bullpen arm.

The Giants decided to give him another shot in the rotation in 2025 but he struggled mightily this time around and was eventually replaced in the rotation by Hayden Birdsong before he was traded to Boston. Things only got worse with the Red Sox as he had a 8.20 ERA in 21 appearances and he got traded to Chicago in the offseason.

Jordan Hicks has turned back into a solid reliever with the White Sox

After a rough start with the White Sox this season, a midseason adjustment seemingly unlocked his former self and he had a respectable 3.94 ERA on the year in 48 innings of work during the regular season. He struck out 64 batters and his fastball velocity was back up to averaging over 99 miles per hour. 

This just goes to show that the plan to use him as a starter was always a fantasy. While the dream of a starter who can throw 100 miles per hour is a fun one, it was always inevitable that Hicks wouldn’t be able to sustain that velocity in a starting role. 

Ultimately, things worked out because the Giants got a really good hitter in Devers in exchange for Hicks, Harrison, James Tibbs, and Jose Bello but seeing him pitch so well as a reliever for the White Sox is just a reminder that using him as a starter was not wise.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow