Ex-Blue Jays reliever signs multi-year deal to become a starter for NL team

Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jordan Hicks is set for quite the payday.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Hicks is signing a four-year deal with the San Francisco Giants worth $44 million.

While he’s made just eight starts in his MLB career through five seasons in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals and Blue Jays, the Giants expect to employ Hicks as a starter, as per Passan.

BREAKING: Right-hander Jordan Hicks and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a four-year, $44 million contract, a source familiar with the deal tells ESPN. Hicks, 27, is expected to work as a starter after spending the majority of his career in the bullpen.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 12, 2024

Hicks had a 2-3 record with an ERA of 2.63, 22 strikeouts and four saves in 25 appearances for the Blue Jays in 2023 after coming over from St. Louis in a midseason trade. He elected to hit free agency after the season, with the move seemingly having paid off for him based on his new deal.

A 27-year-old right-hander originally from Houston, Texas, Hicks had spent his whole MLB  career with the Cardinals before his trade to Toronto. The move offers Hicks a return to the National League after his brief foray into the American League while playing for the Jays this season. He’s the second former Jays pitcher to head to San Francisco in under a week, with Robbie Ray being sent to the Giants in a trade from Seattle last Friday.

Hicks went straight to minor league baseball from Houston’s Cypress Creek High School, as he was selected in the third round of the 2015 draft by the Cardinals.

His most memorable moment in Toronto came on August 19, when he showcased the full extent of his flamethrowing capabilities.

Making an appearance in the eighth inning for Toronto on that day, Hicks threw the fastest -recorded pitch in team history, hitting 103 miles per hour on the Great American Ball Park radar gun in a victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Toronto will potentially have a chance to face their former pitcher on July 9-11, when they visit San Francisco for their only three games of the season against the Giants.

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