Yankees Rumors: RHP Jordan Hicks Targeted Following Juan Soto Trade with Padres

The New York Yankees are interested in signing veteran reliever Jordan Hicks, according to The Athletic's Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner.

Pitching figures to be an area the front office will address after acquiring Juan Soto and Trent Grisham from the San Diego Padres. Four arms (Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Drew Thorpe) were included in the outgoing trade package.

Hicks is coming off a strong 2023 season. Between spells with the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays, he struck out 81 batters and had a 3.22 FIP over 65.2 innings. His 1.1 WAR were a little more than double his previous best, per FanGraphs.

The right-hander's velocity continues to be his calling card. He averaged 100.1 mph with his sinker and 100.3 mph with his four-seam fastball last year, according to Baseball Savant. Against those pitches, opposing hitters had a .354 and .270 slugging percentage, respectively.

Control remains an issue for Hicks, though. He averaged 4.4 walks per nine innings in 2023, down slightly from his career average (4.9). In six of his appearances, he issued at least two free passes.

There's also the general concern over Hicks' health. He had Tommy John surgery in 2019, and the recurrence of elbow trouble is always a possibility with a pitcher who throws as hard as he does.

For the Yankees, some of the risk with Hicks would be mitigated by the fact they presumably already have their closer set for 2024. Clay Holmes' 24 saves were the highest on the team, and he looks like the ninth-inning option once Opening Day rolls around.

Hicks could be devastating in a setup role, and the outings when he isn't at his best wouldn't be quite so costly.