Boston’s return for slugger Rafael Devers keeps shrinking.
Right-handed flamethrower Jordan Hicks, whom the Red Sox acquired last season in the blockbuster trade involving Devers, is headed to the White Sox alongside fellow righty David Sandlin, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported.
Former Yankees prospect Gage Ziehl, another righty who was traded to Chicago for Austin Slater at last year’s trade deadline, is headed to the Red Sox, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
Cotillo adds that Chicago will send Boston $8 million in each of the next two seasons to partially cover Hicks’ remaining $24 million salary.
The trade allows Boston to shed some salary after a bevy of offseason acquisitions, including signing star lefty Ranger Suarez and Willson Contreras, while the White Sox flex their newfound financial flexibility after trading centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets.
Hicks, 29, emerged as a hard-throwing bullpen weapon after debuting with the Cardinals in 2018.
Routinely hitting triple digits on the radar gun, Hicks signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Giants entering the 2024 season – shifting from the bullpen to the starting rotation.
He struggled to replicate his relief success, posting a 4.10 ERA over 29 appearances in 2024 before enduring a career-worst campaign last year.
In 13 games with San Francisco, he posted a 6.47 ERA before being shipped to Beantown in the shocking Devers swap that came after months of drama over his playing third base reached a boiling point.
The Red Sox also acquired left-hander Kyle Harrison, outfield/first base prospect James Tibbs and pitching prospect Jose Bello.
Boston shifted Hicks back to the bullpen in hopes of recapturing his previous success, but he managed an even worse 8.20 ERA in 21 outings.
In addition to Hicks, the Red Sox shipped out Sandlin, a 24-year-old hurler ranked by MLB.com as the eighth-best prospect in the organization.
Sandlin posted a 4.50 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in Boston’s minor league system.
The Red Sox acquired Ziehl, 22, a former fourth-round pick of the Yankees in the 2024 MLB Draft.
He finished 2025 with the White Sox’s High-A affiliate Winston-Salem Dash, posting a 4.01 ERA in six starts after he was dealt for Slater, a veteran right-handed hitter whom the Yankees have considering re-signing this offseason.
Ziehl is ranked as the 14th best prospect in Chicago’s system.