White Sox gamble on reclamation project Jordan Hicks, adding pitching prospect David Sandlin in a multi-player deal with Boston.
The Chicago White Sox continue to make moves to try to improve their team for the 2026 season.
After signing Seranthony Dominguez to a multi-year deal and Austin Hays to a one-year deal in January, the White Sox made another move on Sunday afternoon. This time, the front office acquired two pitchers from the Boston Red Sox.
The White Sox acquired Jordan Hicks and pitching prospect David Sandlin in exchange for pitching prospect Gage Ziehl. Sandlin is currently the Red Sox’s No. 8 prospect, and Ziehl comes in as Chicago’s No. 14 prospect on MLB Pipeline.
Full Trade Details
White Sox Receive: RHP Jordan Hicks & RHP David Sandlin
Red Sox Receive: RHP Gage Ziehl
The big name in this deal is obviously Hicks, who is coming off a subpar season. He finished with a 6.95 ERA, a 1.663 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts across 34 games (nine starts) with the San Francisco Giants and Red Sox last year.
Nothing really went right for Hicks throughout the 2025 season. He struggled as a starter with the Giants (6.55 ERA) and wasn’t productive out of the bullpen for the Red Sox once he was moved in the Rafael Devers trade (8.20 ERA across 21 appearances).
But the White Sox are hoping that a change of scenery could help the hard-throwing right-hander regain his form.
He is just three years removed from finishing with a 3.29 ERA in 65 relief appearances and showed some nice things as a starter in 2024. Hicks had a 4.01 ERA in 20 starts for the Giants that season.
It’ll be interesting to see if the White Sox view Hicks as more of a starting pitcher or a reinforcement for the bullpen. He has experience pitching in both roles over the past few years and has had some success as both a starter and a reliever in his career.
The Red Sox will take on some of Hicks’ remaining salary, but the White Sox are expected to owe the 29-year-old $16 million over the next two years. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that Boston will eat roughly $8 million of his contract salary to make this deal work.
The other part of this trade is that the two teams will swap pitching prospects. The White Sox will be acquiring Sandlin from the Red Sox in this deal.
Sandlin is a near-MLB-ready prospect after pitching in Triple-A last year. Although the 24-year-old had a 7.61 ERA across 15 Triple-A appearances, he has an elite fastball that sits in the upper 90’s.