The SF Giants bullpen would become costly if veteran hurler cannot stick in the rotation

Veteran hurler Jordan Hicks will enter the 2025 season as something of wild card for the SF Giants. They hope that he can stick in the rotation but if he cannot, the bullpen would become an expensive unit.

The SF Giants bullpen would become costly if veteran hurler cannot stick in the rotation

When it comes to bullpen spending, teams do not always get the return on investment that they envisioned. Relievers have volatile career arcs, so it is tough to project their performance on a year-to-year basis.

The Giants have seen that up close with lucrative contracts from experienced bullpen arms like Mark Melancon and Armando Benítez. To a lesser extent, Taylor Rogers belongs in that category as well.

The 2025 bullpen would become costly quickly if Hicks is unable to hold down a rotation spot. Below are the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) hits for some of the most expensive relievers on the roster:

• 1. Taylor Rogers - $11 million
• 2. Jordan Hicks - $11 million
• 3. Tyler Rogers - $5.5 million
• 4. Camilo Doval - $4.6 million
• 5. Subtotal - $32.1 millon

The amounts for both Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval are the projected arbitration salaries according to MLB Trade Rumors. Those amounts might see minor variations, but that is in the ballpark of what each player will earn next season.

This comes out to $32.1 million committed to four relievers. The Giants do have several other pre-arbitration relievers under team control for next season.

That adds a small sum to the total amount but the point remains the same: That is a lot of money for a bullpen that was not a strength.

It is also a lot of money committed to non-closing relievers. In fairness, Tyler Rogers is a high-usage, high-leverage arm, so even at $5.5 million, his value is still a relative bargain. It bears mentioning that some of the best bullpens in baseball usually spend on a good closer, maybe one leverage arm, and stitch together the rest through the farm system and minor signings.

The Giants bullpen posted a 3.96 ERA in 2024. That was 15th in baseball. That is not bad nor is it good. They will be returning a lot of the same core relievers next season and they need pitchers like Randy Rodríguez or Eik Miller to take a step up on the bullpen totem pole.

This is why it is pretty important for Hicks to stick in the rotation. He posted a 2.70 ERA in 12 starts through the first two months of the season but seemingly ran out of steam quickly after that.

The Giants hope that with a season of working primarily as a starter under his belt, Hicks can build his arm strength to be able to pitch deeper into the season in the rotation.

Otherwise, Hicks in the bullpen is just not an efficient use of resources. Committing that much money to non-closing relievers is just not good business. The Hicks was a fascinating experiment in 2024 but the Giants will need more from him in the next three seasons.