What once looked like a risky swing by the Giants is starting to feel more like a home run.
Seven months after San Francisco pulled off a blockbuster deal to bring in Rafael Devers from the Red Sox, one of the key pieces Boston got in return is already on the move. The Red Sox have agreed to trade right-hander Jordan Hicks to the Chicago White Sox, according to multiple reports.
The deal sends Hicks and pitching prospect David Sandlin to the South Side in exchange for right-hander Gage Ziehl - a move that signals Boston is still very much in roster-retooling mode.
Let’s rewind for a moment. When that Devers trade went down in June, it marked a clear fork in the road for both franchises.
The Giants were going all-in, looking to close the gap with the defending champion Dodgers in the NL West. The Red Sox, on the other hand, were offloading the hefty remainder of Devers’ contract and pivoting toward flexibility and the future.
Boston’s return was centered around pitching depth and team control. Hicks was supposed to help stabilize a thin rotation, while lefty Kyle Harrison brought upside and James Tibbs, a first-round outfielder still in the minors, gave them a long-term development piece.
But the picture’s already shifting.
Hicks was viewed as a versatile arm with the potential to start or relieve, but his time in Boston turned out to be brief. Now he’s being flipped - along with Sandlin - for Ziehl, a young righty who adds another layer to Boston’s pitching pipeline. It’s a reminder of how quickly the Red Sox are reshaping the return from the Devers trade, and how fluid these rebuilds can be.
Harrison, meanwhile, has shown flashes since the deal, though it’s been a limited sample. Before the trade, he made eight appearances for the Giants, striking out 25 over 23.2 innings, though he did give up four homers.
Since joining Boston, he’s made three appearances - two of them starts - and struck out 13 over 12 innings without allowing a single home run. It’s early, but there’s something to build on there.
But while Boston continues to shuffle the deck, San Francisco is sitting comfortably with the centerpiece of the deal.
Devers came in with positional questions - especially after Boston signed Alex Bregman in the offseason - and ultimately settled into a full-time designated hitter role. But the bat?
That was never in question. Devers arrived as one of the most accomplished hitters of his generation, with 215 career home runs and a World Series ring from 2018 already on his résumé.
For the Giants, this was about star power. About anchoring a lineup with a proven slugger in his prime.
And so far, that bet is paying off. While the Red Sox continue to reshuffle the pieces they got in return, San Francisco still has the guy they wanted all along - a 28-year-old middle-of-the-order bat with years left on his deal and plenty of pop left in the tank.
Boston could still come out ahead in the long run. Tibbs remains a name to watch, and Ziehl could develop into a valuable arm.
But right now? The more the Red Sox move pieces around, the more it looks like the Giants made the right call.