Giants Sign Jordan Hicks, According To MLB Hot Stove Lowdown
With no significant deals or signings making headlines, the Hot Stove had a quiet weekend. Before pitchers and catchers arrive for spring training, it will be about a month. Regarding the remaining free agents and maybe trade market activity, things ought to get better in the upcoming weeks. The Reds acquired a little depth, but the Giants did get one of the best relievers available in free agency.
Jordan Hicks signs multi-year contract with Giants
The Giants have agreed to a four-year, $44 million contract with free agency reliever Jordan Hicks, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The 27-year-old right-hander recorded a 3.29 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and an 81/32 K/BB ratio in 65 2/3 innings last season while earning 12 saves for the Cardinals and Blue Jays.
It was also his greatest season as a professional. San Francisco plans to give Hicks a shot in the starting rotation despite his troubled injury history and subpar performance in his starting role. In just eight career starts, he has a 5.47 ERA in 26 1/3 innings pitched as a starter for the Cardinals in 2022. What, therefore, gives the Giants optimism that he can succeed in the starting role?
Over the past few seasons, the Giants’ development department has established a reputation for getting the most out of their starting pitchers, turning forth fantastic seasons from players like Carlos Rodón, Alex Cobb, Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani, and Kevin Gausman. Hicks can improve on some of his talents, even though he still has a lot of work to do. His use will probably be more like that of a bulk reliever pitching 3–4 innings after an opener rather than being required to pitch the entire 5–6 innings every start.
As a result, Hicks ought to be able to continue applying his high heat sinker, which contributes to his 58.3 percent ground ball rate. He mixes in a sweeper pitch that produced an astounding 59.5 percent whiff rate with his fastball. He may succeed in a multi-inning role by adding a third pitch to get outs, and he showed off a strong splitter. Hicks must also increase the pace at which he walks.
But he started doing it with the Blue Jays in the second half. In his last 24 innings in Toronto, he walked 8.3 percent of hitters, down from 12.7 percent in St. Louis. Reaching out to a top framer in the game should be beneficial. With a called strike percentage of 52.9 percent, Giants catcher Patrick Bailey emerged as the best backstop.
If Hicks doesn’t pan out as a starter, the Giants already know they have a great high-leverage reliever who can fit into the back end of the bullpen, making the deal well worth it. In NFBC drafts, he was selected just outside of the top 300. Since he was mostly selected as a hypothetical save source, I would anticipate that to change in the upcoming weeks.
Brent Suter joins the Reds’ bullpen
Reliever Brent Suter, a free agent, was signed by the Reds to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million, with a $3.5 million club option for 2025. The 34-year-old left-hander pitched 69 1/3 innings with the Rockies last season, with a 3.38 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a 55/25 K/BB ratio. Suter provides the Reds’ bullpen with a reliable, seasoned presence.
With an 88 on the fastball, the southpaw who throws softly doesn’t have a lot of strength. Though Suter only allows seven barreled balls and a 26.3 percent hard-hit rate throughout the whole season, he thrives at producing a lot of soft contact.
In that sense, he has been able to survive, finishing each season since 2018 with an ERA below four. With Emilio Pagán and Lucas Sims serving as setup men, Suter joins a bullpen that is led by closer Alexis Díaz. Unless there are numerous injuries to the Cincinnati bullpen, Suter has limited fantasy upside because of his lack of a save trajectory and no assistance with strikeouts and ratios.
