Giants Intend To Keep Jordan Hicks In Rotatio

The Giants continue to view as a starting pitcher, baseball operations president Buster Posey said this afternoon ( via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The 28-year-old righty finished this past season in the bullpen. San Francisco signed Hicks to a four-year, $44MM free agent contract last winter. They gave the hard-throwing sinkerballer a starting job. That was Hicks first extended rotation work. He had started eight games for the Cardinals in 2022 but moved back to the bullpen relatively early in that year. He was a full-time reliever in 23 before getting Tyler Wotherspoon Jersey the rotation spot with the Giants. Hicks showed early promise as a starter. He posted a 2.70 earned run average over 12 starts through the end of May. It looked as if Hicks would be a reliever-to-rotation succe s story in the or mold, but things went off the rails midway through the year. Hicks velocity trended down each month. While he averaged 95.6 MPH on his sinker in April, that was down to 93.4 MPH by July. The results sharply dropped with it, as he posted a 5.24 ERA in June and allowed nearly a run per inning in July. San Francisco kicked Hicks to the bullpen by the end of that month. He pitched well in the more familiar one-inning role but battled shoulder inflammation late in the year. Hicks finished the season with a 4.10 ERA in a career-high 109 2/3 innings. The rate production was around average when all was said and done, but it was an up-and-down year. Given the way Hicks wore down physically, it was fair to wonder if the Giants would move him back to relief for good. Posey also wasnt responsible for signing him as a starter, a move that came under previous front office leader Farhan Zaidi. Neverthele s, it seems theyll give Hicks another shot at a rotation spot. , and are locked into rotation roles going into camp. If Hicks takes the fourth spot, thatd leave one job up for grabs. Thatll probably be an external acquisition of some kind. The Giants have been linked to , though that reported interest predated their $182MM agreement with . Its not clear if theyre still willing to play at the top of the rotation market. There are a number of more affordable po sibilities in the middle tiers of free agency. , and are the top internal candidates for the fifth starter role. They each have options and could open next season in Triple-A if San Francisco makes an addition. In other pitching news, Posey downplayed the po sibility of trading former closer (relayed by Susan Slu ser of the San Francisco Chronicle). The Giants have gotten interest in the one-time All-Star, who struggled to a 4.88 ERA as his command deteriorated this year. Trading Doval this winter would be selling low, though, and the Giants are already a bit thin at the back of the bullpen. had a breakout season to take the ninth inning, while and are in potential leverage roles. Doval, whom MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects to make $4.6MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility, represents a volatile middle innings option. Ken Dryden Jersey