Ex-Cardinals Closer Dominating After Finding Bigger Role With New Team

The St. Louis Cardinals were able to refill the missing holes in their rotation from 2023 by acquiring three veteran hurlers early in the offseason.

Despite there being numerous chances for Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to add more depth, the early signings would be all that the Cardinals would get -- regardless of the concerns that Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn wouldn't be enough to help the St. Louis bounce back.

Now it seems that the Cardinals missed a golden opportunity to add depth by bringing back a former St. Louis flamethrower who is thriving with his new club.

Right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks is off to a career year with the San Francisco Giants after transitioning from a closing pitcher to a starter this season.

Hicks has posted a 2-1 record with a 1.59 ERA, 27-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .181 batting average against and a 0.91 WHIP in 34 innings pitched for the Giants so far in 2024.

The Cardinals showed interest in a reunion with Hicks this past winter but ultimately had to settle with promoting Ryan Helsley as their closing pitcher this season -- which has worked out extremely well.

The 27-year-old tried being a starting pitcher back in 2022 but it didn't work out as well as it is now. Hicks recorded a 3-6 record with a 4.84 ERA and a 63-to-35 strikeout-to-walk ratio before returning to pitch as a reliever the following season.

Could the Cardinals be reaping the rewards of Hicks' early season signs of dominance right now if they decided to bring him back as a starting pitcher before this season started? Perhaps so, but for now let's be grateful that the rotation is performing much better than it did this time last year.