Monday, June 30

BOSTON – It was mid-January in 2024 and then-free agent Jordan Hicks was starting to envision what he might look like wearing the uniform of the Boston Red Sox.

But the business of free agency can twist and turn, and Hicks became a San Francisco Giant after signing a four-year, $44 million contract.

The trade market can be even more unpredictable than free agency, and Hicks learned that two weeks ago when the Giants traded him to the Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers trade that stunned the baseball world.

WIth Number 46 on his back, the hard-throwing righty is likely to be activated for the opener of Monday’s three-game series against the Reds at Fenway Park, putting him in position to debut for the team he came close to signing with 17 months ago.

While Hicks was recovering from right toe inflammation that sidelined him on June 1, he certainly didn’t expect to be part of a package for one of the most impactful hitters in baseball. In fact, he didn’t even know he was eligible to get dealt.

“I was a little bit surprised. I didn't even know you can get traded on the IL,” Hicks said. “But besides that, I was just really excited to hear that it was to a team that was pursuing me in free agency, and I get to be a part of a young squad, and I'm just really excited to play for this historic organization.”

What does Hicks remember about Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s pursuit of him in the months leading up to the ‘24 season?

“I just remember they came after me pretty hard, and they were in on me, and it was between them and the Giants,” Hicks said. “So I'm just excited to be here and feel wanted.”

What impressed him when he got to take a peek behind Boston’s pitching curtain?

“Just overall, how in depth they go into the pitching side of things, the metrics and just how much they wanted to have me here,” Hicks said. “I feel like I'm really excited to be a part of the bullpen and see what I can bring.”

When the Giants signed Hicks, it was with the idea of turning him into a starter. While he had his ups and downs in that role, the 28-year-old looks forward to returning to the late-inning, high-leverage role he’s had the most success at in his career. 

And if things go as planned, Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman won’t be the only home pitcher forcing a third digit on the Fenway Park radar gun.

“Yeah, for me, I'm excited for the opportunity. Kind of got to try out the starting thing. Would have liked a longer leash [doing that],” said Hicks.

“But at the same time, I'm excited to help the team anyway I can. I know what I can bring to the table. I just needed a little adjustment period coming from starter [back to reliever]. So it was a good IL stint in that aspect. I feel like I'm really just coming back to bullpen form, bullpen shape."

Hicks remembers well the way the ball flew out of his hand in his last full season as a reliever with the ‘23 Cardinals and Blue Jays.

“Obviously, my last year of full-time relief, I think I got up to 103 [mph] in the playoffs the last game of the season,” Hicks said. “So I've gotten up to 101 this year as a starter, and sat pretty much like 97-98. I'm optimistic that it's in there. And I even cramped up in my last outing, just getting back into my old mechanics. I feel like I'm using things I hadn't used in a while. And it was still coming out 100, so I didn't expect to see that.”

Under the tutelage of Boston’s pitching group, Hicks is working to firm up his slider.

“It was definitely a suggestion from the Red Sox and I was in agreement that I needed a firmer slider to match with a harder fastball,” Hicks said. “So I’m kind of getting away from the sweeper. I mean, it's always in the back pocket, depending on the guy, obviously playing with those two grips right now, but the focus is the harder slider.”

The Red Sox appear fairly close to getting an important bat back in Masataka Yoshida, who will start a Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. The WooSox are home for a three-game series that concludes on Thursday and Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated the club will evaluate his next steps after that.

“He’ll DH on Tuesday. I think it’s two days at DH, then the outfield the third day, and go from there,” said Cora. “We’ll meet again to go over what he needs at-bats wise and what we need physically and decide. But at the end it’s how he feels to compete at this level and from my end, hopefully [he’s back] sooner than later.”

Throughout the season, we are recalling memorable moments from the iconic season the Red Sox had 50 years ago. This week, we look at a big night at the plate from an eventual Hall of Famer.

Jim Rice didn’t win some of the hardware that Fred Lynn did in 1975. But he held up his end of the bargain plenty as the second member of the Gold Dust Twins. In the first game of a doubleheader at Milwaukee’s County Stadium on July 2, Rice mashed homers Nos. 11 and 12 of the season to lead his team to a 6-3 victory. His first long ball was a three-run shot off Bill Castro in the third. Rice added a solo shot against Bill Champion in the fifth. 

With the Reds, Boston’s opponent in that epic ‘75 Fall Classic, in town on Monday-Wednesday, there figures to be some nostalgia in the air. Rico Petrocelli and Dwight Evans will be among the Red Sox players from ‘75 roaming the ballpark over the next few days.

In the third and fourth innings of Tuesday’s game, NESN will provide a throwback viewing experience during the Red Sox game with retro-styled third and fourth innings. And for Wednesday’s series finale, the first 7,500 ticketholders who enter the gates will get a 1975 replica Red Sox jersey.

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