After missing out on a host of other options, the San Francisco Giants have made a substantial signing. Of course, it's not quite that simple.
Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Giants are signing former Cardinals and Blue Jays reliever Jordan Hicks to a four-year, $44 million deal... with the intention of injecting him into their starting rotation.
It's an interesting move given that Hicks has never pitched long innings. As NBC Sports' Alex Pavlovic points out, the only time Hicks has pitched five innings was against the Giants, two years ago. He shut them out.
The 27-year-old has only had one stint of pitching as a starter, in early 2022, when he had a 5.47 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 26.2 innings.
Last season, he was traded from the Cardinals (3.67 ERA in 41.2 innings) to the Blue Jays (2.63 ERA over 24.0 innings), posting a 3.29 ERA on the year.
Hicks, a third-round pick by the Cardinals out of high school in 2015, opted out of the 2020 COVID-19 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019. He pitched just 10 innings in 2021 and posted a 5.40 ERA before elbow inflammation shut him down.
The hard-throwing right hander, who sits consistently in the upper 90s on his fastball, is an interesting proposition. If he can stay healthy for the Giants and work himself into a starter, it would be a steal of a contract. But his injury history and hard-throwing capacities are a cause for concern on that front.
That said, an $11 million a year contract for a 27-year-old who could become a flexible weapon out of the bullpen in the postseason — should the Giants actually make it there — is not the worst option in the world.
A relatively young pitcher with a career 3.85 ERA, coming off his best season is something to potentially look forward to, even if it's a dicey play by the Giants.