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Jordan Hicks #46 of the Boston Red Sox exits the game in the second inning of the game against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on September 03, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)

When it comes to reliever Jordan Hicks, the Red Sox simply do not have many appealing options on hand. Hicks has been the only player from the Rafael Devers deal to be a big-league regular in Boston, a status he has maintained despite having done little to earn his spot.

Hicks has appeared in 21 games for Boston, and the results have been a nightmare: a WHIP of 1.98, an ERA of 8.20 and, to cap it off, a disastrous showing on Wednesday against the Guardians, when Hicks allowed four hits and four runs while getting one out. The hope when the Red Sox acquired Hicks was that his rough season with the Giants could be turned around with a change of scenery. But the new scenery seems to have made him worse.

Because Hicks is a seven-year veteran, he can refuse a Triple-A demotion, so that manager Alex Cora has had little choice but to find a way to get Hicks innings, preferably using situations in which he can cause the least damage possible. Alas, after Wednesday, Cora and the Red Sox were fed up with that charade and finally moved Hicks to the IL.

Red Sox Facing Poor Options

As MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported on Twitter/X, “Red Sox are placing Jordan Hicks on the IL with a shoulder injury and calling up Chris Murphy before tomorrow’s game in Arizona, sources say. Hicks’ ERA ballooned to 8.20 with last night’s struggles.”

Cotillo also added that Wednesday’s disaster, “might be the last time he takes the mound for the Red Sox in 2025.”

Of course, a monkey wrench in the works for the Red Sox is that Hicks is not only unable to be demoted, he is also under contract for two years and $25 million and thus, not an easy guy to simply DFA and move on from. That’s before taking into consideration the organization’s desire to have something to show for Devers.

“We’ve got to figure him out. We need him,” Cora said. “That’s the bottom line. Because we’ve got Whitlock as a setup man, we need righties in the bullpen to do their job. We trust the ability but we have to execute.”

Jordan Hicks Has $44 Million Contract

That’s been the story of Hicks’ career in a nutshell–the ability is there but the execution is not. Hicks was solid in his first two seasons in MLB, with the Cardinals, and had a very good 2023 season (65 games, 3.29 ERA) before signing the big four-year, $44 million contract with the Giants.

San Francisco tried him as a starter in the past two years, but he struggled with command. Boston would have welcomed credible long-relief pitching from Hicks, but he’s only gotten worse in that role.

The Red Sox now have him shuffled off to the injured list, but have faith in their pitching program to bring out the best in talented-but-struggling hurlers. We might not see Hicks again until 2026, and the hope is, he will be a remade pitcher by then.

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney