Insider Projects Red Sox Will Cut Ties With Fireballer, Eat $25 Million

Is Boston going to pull the plug on the experiment?

Jun 2, 2018; Houston, TX, USA; General view of Boston Red Sox caps with gloves in the dugout during the game against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Twelve-and-a-half million dollars is a lot to pay for a reliever in today's game, but the Boston Red Sox are on the hook whether they like it or not.

One of the conditions of the San Francisco Giants taking on the final 8 1/2 years of Rafael Devers' contract was that the Red Sox had to take on 2 1/2 years of fireballer Jordan Hicks. The first half-season of Hicks' Boston tenure, though, was an abject disaster.

Hicks went on the injured list in September, so the Red Sox didn't have to make any tough decisions on his future before the end of the season. That means the end of spring training could prove very, very consequential for the 29-year-old.

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Would Red Sox take dead money with Hicks?

Sep 3, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias (13) hits a two run home run against Boston Red Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks (46) in the second inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, MassLive's Chris Cotillo made a 26-man opening day roster projection, and within that piece, he predicted that the Red Sox would waive Hicks by the end of spring training and simply swallow the remaining $25 million he's owed over the next two seasons.

"A Red Sox team intent on contending from the jump will have to make some hard decisions in an effort to field the best 26-man roster for 162 games," Cotillo wrote. "That means potentially losing some high-octane arms at the beginning of camp.

"Hicks is under contract and costly ($12 million competitive balance tax hit), but the leash needs to be short with him if the same problems that plagued him last year resurface."

Hicks has one of the most electric bullpen arms in the sport in terms of pure velocity. We saw him regularly touch 100 mph after the trade and top out at 102. But there was also no denying how detrimental he was to the team's efforts to win.

Hicks managed to put up negative-1.1 bWAR in only 18 2/3 innings for the Red Sox, and there are a couple of games that immediately come to mind in which he was single-handedly the difference between a potential win and an eventual loss.

So the question, at least according to Cotillo, who knows the team well, is how much change can the righty convince the club he's made since the start of September?

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