Who is he and where did he come from?
He’s Jordan Hicks, a native Houston, Texas. He began his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals and spent the majority of his rookie contract in the Midwest before being traded to the Blue Jays at the 2023 deadline. After half a season north of the border, Hicks signed a four year contract with the San Francisco Giants, who just traded him to the Red Sox for Rafael Devers.
What position does he play?
He’s a right-handed pitcher. He’s pitched both as a starter and out of the bullpen previously.
Is he any good?
If you were watching baseball for the first time and didn’t know that the strike zone existed, you would think Hicks is one of the best pitchers in the game. His stuff is off the charts. As a reliever, his sinker averages a touch over 98 MPH with good horizontal movement. The results haven’t been great this season, but a 68% ground ball rate against the pitch screams positive regression.
He also throws a sweeper that generates solid swing and miss, especially against right-handed hitters. It isn’t hit hard, either, but it’s seldom in the strike zone to be hit hard. He also mixes in a four-seam and splitter that perform well in terms of whiffs, but neither provides a consistent source of strikes.
“Consistent source of strikes” is a phrase you’ll hear me say often when it comes to Hicks. In 2024, he primarily pitched out of the rotation, and his only pitch that held a strike rate over 60% was his sinker. In 2023, he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen, and his only strike rate over 60% was his sinker. No matter the role, Hicks hasn’t shown an ability to throw a second pitch for consistent strikes, leading to a high walk rate.
Now, his sinker is good enough to get him out of bad counts, and he can be successful. He’s going to walk guys, but hitters will pound the sinkers into the ground. Are the Red Sox the team to convert those ground balls into outs? I won’t answer that because I don’t like the answer.
Hicks will probably be a solid bullpen contributor, but he’s also the exact wrong type of player to receive in this trade. He’ll likely be good more often than he’s not, but he’s prone to blowup outings. Whenever those happen, fans will respond, “This is who we got for Rafael Devers?” and that’s how he’ll be judged.
TL;DR, just give me his 2025 stats.
48.2 IP, 55 H, 20 BB,43 K, 3 HR, 6.47 ERA, 3.59 FIP
Show me a cool highlight.
This was a few years ago, but Hicks fastball velocity rivaled Aroldis Chapman’s at a time.
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Talking to his catcher about what the actual fuck just happened? “They traded Rafael Devers for me? I’m flattered, but seriously? Me?”
What’s his role on the 2025 Red Sox?
If you made me guess, I’d expect him to join the Red Sox pen. Between Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler, Brayan Bello, Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, and eventually Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval, the rotation already doesn’t have enough spots. Forcing Hicks in to a crowded rotation doesn’t make things easier.
He’s also on the IL with a toe injury right now, but he recently threw a bullpen, so he shouldn’t be out for too much longer.
