The Red Sox are placing right-hander Jordan Hicks on the 15-day IL due to a shoulder injury, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Southpaw Chris Murphy will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take Hicks’ spot in Boston’s bullpen.
Hicks came to the Red Sox alongside Kyle Harrison, Jose Bello and the since-traded (for Dustin May) James Tibbs III in the June blockbuster sending Rafael Devers to the Giants. The veteran righty is in the second season of a four-year, $44MM deal signed with San Francisco in the 2023-24 offseason. The Giants tried Hicks as a starter both last year and this season, but he hasn’t held up in that role. The Sox have been using him in the bullpen, and the results through his first two-plus months have been nightmarish.
In 18 2/3 innings with the Red Sox, Hicks has been crushed for 17 runs (8.20 ERA) on 25 hits and a dozen walks. He’s also plunked four batters and tossed six wild pitches — all while striking out a career-worst 15.5% of his opponents. Manager Alex Cora has still used Hicks in plenty of leverage spots, and the organization was surely hopeful that he could return to his prior standing as a coveted, flamethrowing setup man.
Perhaps that’ll still be the case down the road. The Red Sox have Hicks signed through 2027, and he’ll earn $12MM in each of the next two seasons. It’s important for them to try to get the righty sorted out, but for the time being, he’ll be down for the next two weeks at the very least. This will be the eighth IL stint for Hicks since he landed on the IL in 2019 for a UCL tear and required Tommy John surgery — and the third shoulder-related IL stint dating back to Aug. 2024.
At various points in his career, Hicks has looked the part of a quality late-inning option with a chance to step up as one of the game’s elite relievers. He’s averaged better than 100 mph on his sinker in three different seasons and from 2018-21 logged a massive 63% ground-ball rate. Hicks has never missed bats as often as one would expect for someone with this type of velocity, but he’s had three seasons with an ERA in the low-to-mid 3.00s and looked to have turned a corner in 2023. That season, he logged a 3.29 ERA with a career-best 28.4% strikeout rate and an 11.2% walk rate which, at the time, was also a career-best mark for a full season.
Hicks parlayed that impressive year and his uncommon youth in free agency (27 years old) into his current four-year contract. He’ll have another two years to get back on track at Fenway Park, and he’ll still be headed into just his age-31 season when he reaches free agency for a second time after the 2027 campaign.
“shoulder injury”
Can we get him a full blown tommy john for this? I know it’s different parts of the body, but we could do a buy-one, get-one. He gets a surgery and a one-way ticket to any city not named Boston!
Can we do this, please?
We can rebuild him. We have the technology.
I all for a 10 year rebuild plan!
…Better, stronger, faster.
The Six-Million ERA Man.
As they say, relievers are ‘volatile’ from year to year. This is obviously a mental health IL placement. The Sox are not going to DFA him with $24M left on his contract. They’ll work to straighten him out over the winter and hope he can regain his form as a back of the bullpen contributor. If he’s not right by the AS break of 2026, they will send him packing and eat the rest of the money owed to him.
They could have actually put him on the IL for mental health reasons, Daniel Bard and Chris Martin went on the IL for anxiety.
Not trying to argue, completely agree with what your saying. I just don’t think that it’s actually a shoulder issue. I am still annoyed at the blatant IL manipulation for Yoshida, but that’s a story for another time.
Shocking
what did sox get outta the devers deal again? a bowl of clam chowder?
Yeah but the Giants got an overpaid pudsicle in return.
giants got a superstar
sf is a pitcher park and devers has hit more HRs than he did in boston in less games. very impressive. might hit 40 bombs overall this yr. meanwhile harrison hasnt made a single major lg appearance and is shaky in the minors. tibbs was traded after a wk. and hicks is garbage and is now out with injury. i mean literally sox woulda gotten more outta the deal if they acquired a bunch of lobster rolls. sox fans can whine and complain all they want. they gave up hof’er betts. now they gave up hof’er devers. but keep whining and crying about how its for the best. sf got an elite bat for literally nothing. nada. zip. zero. the worst trade in the history of baseball since babe ruth. another sox classic
You must have flunked out of troll school.
I think it has potential to surpass the Betts trade in terms of how bad the return was.
Verdugo was at least replacement level for two seasons and Wong had one good season.
Hicks is awful. Thibbs -> May and May has been bad. Bello is a straight lottery ticket, so odds are he won’t pan out – maybe he does and somehow saves the trade. Maybe Harrison will finally learn a good secondary after pitching in parts of 3 MLB seasons – but I’m not holding my breath.
@ chandlerbing
“now they gave up hof’er devers.”
Edgar Martinez made it into the hall as a bat only, poor 3rd basemen who mostly DH’d later in his career. He had 8 seasons in which he produced over 150 OPS+.
David Ortiz made it into the hall as a bat only, poor 1st basemen who mostly DH’d later in his career. He had 7 seasons where he produced over 150 OPS+.
Raffy is going to be a bat only poor 3rd baseman who mostly DH’s later in his career. To this point in his career (probably close to the halfway point) he has produced a total of ZERO seasons with an OPS+ of 150 or better.
Devers is not sniffing the hall unless he either gets way better at hitting or learns to actually provide some value with his glove.
Suit, while I agree with your post, I have to admit… pudsicle made me laugh
I’m pretty sure the Red Sox are way better off with a bunch of young premier talent without Devers around to show them how to be complete jerks. It’s addition by subtraction. I just wonder exactly how long Buster Posey will put up with it? I’m betting not very long.
The Red Sox have consistently ran good players (and coaches) out of town. It won’t be long until they treat the next crop of young talent poorly and run them out of town.
This coming from a long time Red Sox fan.
Just wait until the team keeps having good seasons that are wasted because they refuse to add what’s needed at the deadline, or cheap out on FA yet again and see how long it takes for the players to realize what’s going on.
You can debate if getting a really good hitter is a good idea even if the contact is underwater. However in the end, you have to decide which players you want to have your big money contracts. By refusing to play 1B, or even take ground balls there, he did that. It means that every day you’d have to play Gonzalez or Toro, over two of Yoshida, Anthony, Duran, or Abreu. How well is someone like that going to age anyways?
From what I know of Breslow and as long as the owners don’t run him out of town, Things will change in that area pretty soon,. Unfortunately all the good people Hoyer has run out of town are all doing are doing better than him. The Cubs keep letting the wrong guys go. Kastrovince is probably next and he could follow Breslow there. If he does you should be happy.
The Red Sox have changed CBO/whatever nearly every four years.
Cherington (2011-2015)
Dombrowski (2015-2019)
Bloom (2020-2023)
Cherington and DD won world series titles. Doesn’t really bode well for Breslow.
That ChandlerBong dude must do the same stuff Mathew Perry used to do. The Giants didn’t get a Superstar. Superstars lead by example, Play where they’re told to and always show up up no matter what’s going on around them. The Giants got a Gigantic Hemorrhoid. Pass the Prep H.
Give it up, dude. There’s zero evidence of Buster giving him nothing but love. For a long time. Get out of your own head and take a peek at reality.
At uncle Mike
The Red Sox shed a massive contract. If any of the players they received in the trade turn out to be “useful”, that’s just a bonus. The money they saved is going to help extend players like R. Anthony, A. Bregman and P. Tolle? Devers will not be in the HOF. He does not keep himself in good shape, is often battling injuries, is horrible defensively and has never even finished in the top-10 in MVP voting. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see the Giants knock off the Dodgers, but I am glad Devers is no longer in Boston.
You forgot:
Jose Bello 4-1, 3.02 in Rookie League
Ha ha. Keep telling yourself that. The Giants got 139 wRC+
Dudes been great. No drama, happy, seems tight with the boys. The Giants got very lucky.
I guess Giant fans were so desperate to obtain a Superstar they will manufacture one in their own minds. After years of losing every FA they chased they settled on this guy. And everything I’ve learned over the years is Buster Posey is an old school guy. He won’t put up with Devers if he keeps it up.
I didn’t say he was a superstar. I said he had a 139wRc+ and described my observations of his attitude as a Giant. But yes, we were desperate for a Devers.
Keeps what up ? What is it that Buster won’t put up with ? There’s nothing there. It’s all inside your head. The hilarious part is that if Devers continues rolling along at being great for the next 5 years…you will still be saying “Buster won’t put with it, it will all come apart soon”
Farking hilarious.
Hey i could care less about the Giants so tell yourself whatever you want to get yourself through the day, LMAO. I’m just glad he’s not in Chicago and I know he won’t be anytime soon because the Cubs won’t even pay Tucker and his salary would cover the White Sox payroll for the last 12 years with money left over.. Bon Apetit!
Man up. Answer the question. What’s he doing that Buster won’t put up with ? I’m curious.
Not running out grounders, Starting fights, Won’t play where he’s told. Those are things Buster wouldn’t have put up with AS A PLAYER! Remember when they got him and he said oh yeah I’ll play 1B! That lasted about a week. Last time I checked Chapman is gonna be around for awhile so his position of choice is full. So if he wouldn’t put up with that guy as a PLAYER, What exactly makes you think he will as a POBO? Wow. Even the Cub announcers were dogging him for the way he was acting and they got swept. LOL
Relief from $29M per year for 8 1/2 years.
It’s possible for both team to win or lose a trade. Loss/loss win/win happen all the time
Stop with this. Getting rid of devers was the return and Harrison is still promising.
Harrison’s ceiling is a 4th starter
Yeah man. The lineup sure is looking great without Devers in it.
If Harrison is still promising, why didn’t he start yesterday instead of the BP game?
Thank God Devers is gone though. His 144 OPS+ with 30HR? Who needs that! What we really need is a relief pitcher with an era north of 8, a SP with an era north of 5, and a former top pitching prospect who still has potential! Wowie. What a winning trade for the Sox.
Not nearly enough in return.
“Not nearly enough in return.”
And what does that tell you about how other teams valued that overpaid crybaby?
He was not openly being shopped. What are you talking about?
They got a better record.
chandler – Addition by subtraction. Sox dumped a load of a contract and a malcontented crybaby who is as far from a team player as you’ll find.
He gone
Is the name of that injury “I-suck-itis” by any chance?
Ah, a classic case of “bad at pitching,” I fear it’s terminal.
Keep him there. For the remainder of his contract
All these brutal relievers the Red Sox have had over these last few years… Makes you(I) appreciate a certain one who was run out of town(6.50plus ERA) a few years ago and is having a great year with the Cubs(before all-star break) I like the fact the Red Sox are trying to put together a staff that’s solid 1-10, 11 whatever it is now and not giving last spot to the brutal pitcher who you wouldn’t trust getting the last out in a LLWS game….
The problem is that you need about 1,500 innings. Starters give you 120-180, relievers give you 40-80. That leaves a lot of innings left past the first 12 guys. It’s a crap shoot 13-18.
So true Hayzee, but looking at roster is there anyone else who would come close to you ready to jump out of basement window than Hicks?? So crazy that a guy who hits98-99 mph can be so hit able…
The Red Sox didn’t want Jordan Hicks. His ERA was 6.4 when the trade happened. He was in the trade as a salary offset. $250M due to Devers, minus $30M due to Hicks, equals $220M effective.
Wouldn’t surprise me if they released him in the offseason, or next year.
What’s the point in that? He will be 29 all of the next season and has relatively low mileage with past success as a reliever. He can work out as one in the offseason and they bring him back in S.T.
I agree, I think the plan should be to give him a full offseason and ramp-up as a reliever for next year. If it’s not working out then they can move on, but it seems hasty to cut him for a 40-man spot this winter.
Creature doesn’t understand the 40 man roster reality coming in December. Hicks is close to the end in Boston.
Hicks just doesn’t seem to have that bulldog personality on the mound and when he is not all over the place, he throws dead center pitches, also known as meatballs!
That trade is looking better and better for the Buster Posey led Giants, with every passing day.
So far anyway…looong way to go (many years) before we can fully assess.
Is there a 425,000 day IL? I think Jordan needs some extended time off.
Butt hurt and damaged ego.. I recommend out for the season. Meaning the ’26 season.
Bruised ego.
Wounded pride.
Giants bad contract is now a Red Sox bad contract.
Soto, Red Sox are use to having bad contracts its part of the game, While they didn’t get much for Betts( he wasn’t gonna sign and wanted to test FA) they got rid of Price’s contract and in this case Raffy’s.. By today’s salary”s SF probably did get a bargain for a elite bat, what Boston does with savings moving forward will be a tell tale… So far I like the fact they are using some of it to lock up their young talent…