Ex-Blue Jays pitcher Jordan Hicks excelling with Giants

The Toronto Blue Jays may be regretting their decision not to re-sign pitcher Jordan Hicks after the 2023 season.

The Blue Jays acquired Hicks days before last season’s trade deadline in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, sending pitching prospects Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein the other way. It was a big addition for the Jays, as the hard-throwing 27-year-old was considered a huge upgrade for their bullpen.

Hicks was solid in a relief role last season for both the Cardinals and Blue Jays, putting together a 3.29 ERA with 12 saves in 15 opportunities over 65.2 innings. Despite his success in the pen, he made it clear that he wanted to be a starting pitcher moving forward.

The San Francisco Giants were willing to give Hicks that opportunity and signed him to a four-year, $44 million contract in free agency. It’s early, but the contract looks like an excellent one so far.

Hicks has made two starts with the Giants, giving up just one earned run over 12 innings. He’s racked up 11 strikeouts over that span and has been very controlled, giving up just one walk.

Hicks went seven innings in yesterday’s 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres, throwing 91 pitches, both of which serve as career highs. Perhaps most impressive was that his 87th pitch of the day was recorded at 99 mph, which suggests going deep into games as he did yesterday could be a continued trend.

The Giants might have struck gold with Starting Pitcher Jordan Hicks. He set career-highs with seven innings and 91 pitches, allowing two runs and striking out five. His 87th pitch of the day was 99 mph.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 5, 2024

To the Blue Jays’ defence, they didn’t have much room for Hicks as a starter, with pitchers Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi, and Alek Manoah all returning. They also signed Yariel Rodriguez to a five-year, $32 million deal and expected him to compete for a spot in the rotation. He is currently with Triple-A Buffalo but has impressed so far and could join the Blue Jays soon.

What a start for Yariel Rodríguez!

His debut with the @BuffaloBisons:

4 IP | 6 Ks | 0 ER | 0 Hpic.twitter.com/Glcx6Q9V0S

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 2, 2024

Hindsight is always 20/20 in these situations, but you can’t help but wonder if Blue Jays management is second-guessing their decision to let Hicks walk. Either way, it’s great to see the former Jay succeeding in a role he was hopeful to earn.

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