Red Sox’s Jordan Hicks Flashes Elite Arm With WooSox; Is He Ready For Boston?

The Red Sox received some encouraging news Friday night from Triple-A Worcester. That’s where right-hander Jordan Hicks made another rehab appearance, and by all accounts, it was a success.

Hicks, part of the haul from the blockbuster Rafael Devers trade, pitched the fifth inning in Friday’s 4-2 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He faced five batters and didn’t allow a run, striking out two while giving up one hit and walking one batter. He threw 23 pitches, 15 for strikes.

Hicks, 28, lit up the radar gun, topping out at 100.1 mph, according to Masslive.com’s Christopher Smith. “Hicks averaged 99.3 mph with his eight sinkers,” Smith reported Friday. “He topped out at 99.7 mph with his five four-seam fastballs and averaged 98.3 mph with it.”

Smith’s breakdown of Hicks’ appearance noted the former Giants pitcher got both of his strikeouts on swings-and-misses, with one coming on a four-seam fastball and the other on a splitter.

“He added six splitters and four sweepers,” Smith reported. “He got five swings-and-misses: two with his sweeper and one each with his sinker, four-seam fastball and splitter.”

Smith wrote Friday that the Red Sox could activate Hicks early next week when the Cincinnati Reds visit for a three-game series beginning Monday at Fenway Park.

“We don’t want to rush him,” manager Alex Cora said Friday, per Smith. “This is more than pitching. Moving around, picks. Hopefully, we can pass that last hurdle and he’ll be with us sooner rather than later.”

San Francisco placed Hicks on the 15-day injured list on June 3 with inflammation in his right toe. The Giants traded him on June 15 in a five-player swap with the Red Sox that sent Devers to San Francisco.

Hicks made his first rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday. Functioning as the opener in the WooSox’s series finale against the Buffalo Bisons, he lasted 2/3 of an inning. Hicks allowed three hits, two earned runs, a walk and one strikeout on 23 pitches.