Role Change Could Be Coming for San Francisco Giants Starter if He Flops Again

If one of the San Francisco Giants pitchers struggles again this year, a role change could be coming.

Aug 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Jordan Hicks (12) meets at the mound with catcher at T-Mobile Park / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sport

The San Francisco Giants searched for a way to add another top-level starter alongside Logan Webb last offseason, and before they landed Blake Snell on a short-term deal, their splash signing was Jordan Hicks.

What reportedly helped the Giants win the sweepstakes for the hard-throwing righty was their vision to move him into the starting rotation, something Hicks had only done eight times prior in his Major League career

There's always risks that come with converting a reliever into a starter, especially one who was a closer in the past and was used to coming in for high-leverage situations, however, it looked like this would work early on.

Hicks was sizzling in his new role.

Across his first six starts, he posted a 1.59 ERA, striking out 27 batters in 34 innings which proved he didn't need to use overpowering stuff to get batters out.

But after that, the cracks started to show.

Hicks had an ERA of 3.99 in the month of May, not a bad number, but also started to make San Francisco take notice about what was going on. The alarm was raised when his ERA was 5.24 in the month of June until the bells were fully sounding when he posted a 8.40 ERA in July.

The Giants decided to move him back into the bullpen to close the year since he had gone way over his previous career-high innings pitched mark.

Heading into the upcoming season, though, they still are ready to use him as a starter. But if he continues to struggle the way he did to close last year, a permanent role change could be coming.

"The Giants are still viewing Hicks as a starter, but the hard-throwing right-hander could be an option to move back to the bullpen if he struggles to stick in the rotation," reports Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

That makes sense on both fronts.

After signing a four-year, $44 million contract with the compensation coming from an understanding that he'd be a starter, using Hicks in the rotation to begin the year after an offseason that ideally better prepares him for that type of work load could yield better results.

If it doesn't, though, then an $11 AAV for a flamethrowing reliever who has proven to get MLB hitters out at a high level is also great value.

How much of a leash San Francisco gives him will be seen, but they seem intent on giving him every chance to be someone they can hand the ball to every fifth day.