Red Sox Found Hidden Gem in Jordan Hicks Trade, Expert Suggests

Of the three players involved in the trade between the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Gage Ziehl is the true wild card.

In the reported agreement, which sends Ziehl to Boston for right-handed pitchers Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin, the Red Sox saved $16 million over the next two years by attaching a pretty good pitching prospect to Hicks, whose contract was proving to be a nightmare.

There are so many ways to break this trade down, but for a moment, let's focus on Ziehl. Because in terms of "throw-ins" for trades, the Red Sox got a pretty intriguing one here.

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Is Ziehl going to be a productive major leaguer someday?

May 23, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Miami (Fl) Hurricanes pitcher Gage Ziehl (31) during the second inning against the Clemson Tigers during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Ari Alexander of WHDH-TV in Boston reported Sunday that a league source reacted with the exclamation "Ooh, big arm" when hearing it was Ziehl included in the trade. "Big" is a vague term, but there's evidence to suggest that Ziehl could amount to something worthwhile for Boston.

MLB Pipeline ranked Ziehl as the No. 14 prospect in the White Sox's organization. He was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Yankees in 2024 and was traded straight-up for Austin Slater, a platoon outfielder who has nonetheless made a nice career for himself in the big leagues.

In 107 innings at the Low-A, High-A, and Double-A levels last season, Ziehl put up a 4.12 ERA and just 90 strikeouts. The stuff wouldn't seem to be playing at an elite level yet, but the Pipeline scouting report grades all three of his offerings at 50 or above on the 20-to-80 scale, and his control at a 60.

The reality at this point in time is that we haven't seen either Sandlin or Ziehl at the major league level, so we don't particularly know what to expect from either. Yes. Sandlin has the higher pedigree at the moment, and he's closer to debuting in the majors. With the White Sox, it will probably happen early this year.

But in five years, could we marvel at Ziehl being by far the best pitcher of the three involved in this deal? Unequivocally, yes. That's the nature of prospect evaluation -- we make our best guesses, and then we see which one out of every handful that debuts in the majors actually turns into something.

The biggest question for the Red Sox to answer in the short term is what happens with the money saved from the Hicks deal. But Ziehl as a throw-in is still a name worth watching, because

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