Jordan Hicks contract details, grade: SF Giants take big gamble on flamethrower

The San Francisco Giants have had another offseason of misses when it comes to star players. They missed out on the two biggest stars of the offseason, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and even missed out on some other players they were reportedly in on like Shota Imanaga and Marcus Stroman.

The Giants did add Jung Hoo Lee, but when looking at what teams in their division like the Dodgers and Diamondbacks have done, Giants fans have every reason to be upset. The Giants did just make another move, but took a massive, massive gamble as well.

Jeff Passan of ESPN broke the news that Jordan Hicks was set to sign a deal to join the Giants. It's a big acquisition, but the role they plan on using him for is one that comes with major risk.

Jordan Hicks contract details and grade after signing with Giants

The Giants signing Hicks to a four-year deal worth $44 million to work out of their bullpen would've been a bit pricey but would've made some sense. The Giants don't have a glaring need there but you can never have enough quality relievers, and having another fireballer to pitch in front of Camilo Doval would've been really fun to watch. Signing him to be a starting pitcher is a decision that's a bit harder to justify.

Hicks has all of the potential in the world, and has ace-caliber stuff when healthy. Key words, when healthy. Hicks has had trouble staying on the field thanks to a bevy of injuries including several arm issues. The most glaring one was a Torn UCL which resulted in this right-hander undergoing Tommy John Surgery back in 2019.

Hicks came up through the minor leagues as a starting pitcher but has been mostly a relief pitcher throughout his MLB career. He did start eight games for St. Louis back in 2022, but posted an ERA of 5.47 in those starts. He's primarily been a reliever mainly thanks to his injuries, but he's also had success out of the bullpen.

This past season was arguably Hicks' best, as he posted a 3.29 ERA in 65 appearances splitting time with St. Louis and the Toronto Blue Jays. He has proven himself to be a strong late-game arm, but that's not what this signing is.

The Giants are a team in need of starting pitching, so it makes sense that they signed someone to help in the rotation. The problem is they could really use one they could've relied on to give consistent innings. Hicks isn't anything close to that, and hasn't topped 77.2 innings in a single MLB season. That came back in his rookie year of 2018.

The potential is there for Hicks to succeed, but he has not done it as a starter in MLB. It's not impossible that he does succeed, but how likely is it that he's both healthy and productive? Outside of Logan Webb, the Giants don't have much reliability. Kyle Harrison has potential but is young and unproven. Alex Cobb is really solid but is currently injured and will miss the beginning of this upcoming season.

It's hard not to marvel at the upside, but it's also really hard to ignore the risks involved with this. Sure, they can move him back to the bullpen if all fails as a starter, but that's not what San Francisco is hoping for.

Seth Lugo was able to make the transition from a reliever to a starter and had a fantastic season with the Padres this past season. The Giants are hoping Hicks has a similar trajectory. There are some things to like, but with other bonafide frontline starters like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery available it's hard to give the Giants much credit for this move.

Grade: C