Jordan

Hicks

Hicks made just one appearance after being activated on Sept. 14, giving up three runs in 1 1/3 innings that day. The Giants pulled him out of the rotation in late July because they didn’t want him throwing too many innings after moving from the bullpen. We’ll never know for sure whether that was the right call, but he went on to be a non-factor afterwards, throwing just 11 innings and giving up six runs. He had a 4.01 ERA and a 90/41 K/BB ratio over 98 2/3 innings in his 20 starts. He was actually at 2.82 through the first 15 of those. It sounds like he’ll be back in the rotation next year.

Hicks missed just a smidgen under three weeks while dealing with inflammation in his pitching shoulder The 28-year-old will be a multi-inning relief option for the Giants for the remainder of 2024, but seems likely to move back to a starting gig in 2025.

The writing was on the wall after Hicks dealt with an injury scare last Friday when he experienced discomfort in his right arm while warming up for a relief appearance. The hard-throwing 27-year-old righty has thrown a career-high 108 1/3 innings this season in his San Francisco debut, so it doesn’t come as a total shock that he might be hitting the metaphorical wall from a workload standpoint.

Hicks played catch on Saturday without any issues after being shut down while warming up on Friday due to an unspecified arm issue. The positive news here is that additional testing didn’t reveal anything elbow-related and he’s not expected to require a trip to the injured list. It looks like the hard-throwing 27-year-old righty has managed to avoid serious injury.

The positive news here is that initial tests ruled out anything elbow-related with Hicks telling reporters afterwards that the sensation he experienced while warming up might be related to pectoral tightness. There should be an update on his status at some point this weekend. It’s worth noting that the hard-throwing 27-year-old righty has tossed a career-high 107 2/3 innings this season in his Giants debut.

Hicks was making his seventh appearance in relief since the Giants decided to drop him from the rotation. He’s probably worth rostering in mixed leagues for now, though there’s still the chance the Giants could give Camilo Doval another chance in September.

Giants’ skipper Bob Melvin said Friday that he prefers to keep Ryan Walker in his familiar setup role in the eighth inning, meaning the ninth inning is suddenly wide open. Hicks has closing experience and was warming up behind Camilo Doval during Wednesday’s game. For those speculating on saves, now is time to run out and grab Hicks.

Hicks is officially being moved to the bullpen, as expected. The 27-year-old will not make his scheduled start against Colorado, and instead it will be Erik Miller opening a bullpen game for the Giants. Hicks will still miss bats in the bullpen, but assuming he’s not closing games, his value for 2024 is essentially gone.

“We talked to (Hicks) today. It’s just a matter of what we need on Sunday,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re going to have two starters on Saturday and there’s going to be a need for a starter on Sunday. If it is him, we’ll probably shorten it a little bit, because he’s getting a little worn down, as we’ve seen.” Hicks, who had been used primarily as a reliever since reaching the majors in 2018, has thrown 98 2/3 innings in 20 starts this season. The Giants can replace him in the rotation with the rehabbing Alex Cobb, though there weren’t planning on activating Cobb on Sunday.

Hicks did strike out seven batters, but he also walked five and had just a 40 percent zone rate overall on the day. This marks the fifth straight poor start for Hicks, who has compiled an 8.18 ERA and 1.95 WHIP in 22 innings over that span with a 12 percent walk rate. With Robbie Ray returning to the rotation this week and Alex Cobb not far away from his own return, the Giants might want to consider moving Hicks back into the bullpen.