Hicks bolsters Blue Jays’ bullpen in a big way
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TORONTO — American League contenders are loading up and the Toronto Blue Jays are one of them, bolstering the bullpen in a big way with the acquisition of Jordan Hicks.
The fit is obvious.
The club needed another high-leverage reliever to pair with Jordan Romano down the stretch, and Hicks’ skill set is a great match for what the Jays had previously lacked.
With Romano currently on the injured list until at least Aug. 13 with lower back inflammation, it became even more crucial to add to the bullpen mix prior to Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.
On paper, it just went from a very good ‘pen to a postseason-type ‘pen with the addition of Hicks, who brings both velocity and the groundball tendencies the Jays needed.
While the 100.5 mph sinker is nice and will bring some exciting radar gun readings to Rogers Centre late in the game, it’s his 60.6 per cent career groundball rate that manager John Schneider will appreciate in late-game situations with runners on base.
Four months into the season, the Jays bullpen ranks 26th in baseball in groundball percentage at 40.4 per cent, so Hicks brings an element that’s been missing.
He fits nicely alongside a healthy Romano, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards as high-leverage arms Schneider can turn to from the seventh inning on.
The right-hander is also finally striking out hitters at a rate you’d expect with the stuff he has — the slider is the put-away pitch — with a career high 31.2 per cent K-rate and 59 punchouts across his 41.2 frames.
At the age of 26, Hicks is timing up things up nicely with a solid campaign as he’s set for free agency at the end of the season, making this look like a pure rental for the Blue Jays.
In exchange for Hicks, the Jays sent a pair of Double-A pitching prospects to the St. Louis Cardinals in Sem Robberse, the No. 9 prospect in the organization coming into the season, and Adam Kloffenstein, who ranked 44th but was putting together a breakout season and would’ve shot up into the top 25 heading into 2024 had he not been dealt.
Both right-handers profile as likely back-end starters, and options who aren’t all that far away, which is the allure for the Cardinals.
The trade further depletes what little upper-minors starting pitching depth the Jays did have that was close to ready, but that’s a sacrifice this World Series-chasing organization is very comfortable with making at this point.