Categories: Phillies News And Rumors

Phillies news and rumors 1/19: Club reportedly had interest in Jordan Hicks before he signed with Giants

The Philadelphia Phillies have been notably absent from the market for five-time All-Star closer Josh Hader this offseason. However, they did apparently have interest in arguably the second-best reliever on the market, but there’s a catch.

According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, there was “mutual interest” between the Phillies and RHP Jordan Hicks at one point this offseason. Over on Just Baseball, Hicks was rated as the No. 25 overall free agent at the outset of the offseason, and the No. 2 reliever available.

So what happened? The San Francisco Giants not only offered Hicks a four-year/$44 million deal, but they are giving him the opportunity to be a starting pitcher. Hicks wisely took the deal from the Giants, a pact that also includes $2 million in annual incentives based on how many innings the flame-throwing righty is able to pitch.

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It’s unclear if the Phillies ever made a formal offer to Hicks, but it may not have mattered if they did. The Phillies “viewed Hicks as a reliever,” according to Gelb’s reporting. That makes sense considering 204 of his 212 career MLB appearances have been out of the bullpen, including when he posted a 3.29 ERA across 65 games for the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays this past season.

Hicks — who has averaged 100.8 mph on his fastball during his career — made eight starts for the Cardinals in 2022, posting a 5.47 ERA in those outings. Still only 27, Hicks is going to get the opportunity to start for the Giants, and it doesn’t work out, San Francisco still knows they have a live arm with past success out of the bullpen.

The Phillies, meanwhile, are left still trying to figure out how to replace the 71 appearances Craig Kimbrel made for the team a year ago. Some of those additional innings could come internally, with a full year of Orion Kerkering out of the bullpen and better health from José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez. But one would think another external addition is still on the docket for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

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