Jordan Hicks is officially a member of the San Francisco Giants. And their starting rotation, surprisingly. The SF Giants signed Hicks to be a starting pitcher, which is not what people expected from Hicks this offseason. But it doesn't mean the plan is destined to fail. Hicks has monster stuff and the Giants truly believe he can start. If it works, the Giants will be thrilled and in a great spot. If it doesn't, he can be a stud in the back of the bullpen. The only issue? If Hicks in the rotation backfires, the SF Giants will have starting pitching problems, considering newly acquired Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb will miss significant time at the start of the 2023 season.

The Giants avoided arbitration with Thairo Estrada, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Tyler Rogers on the day of the day of the deadline to exchange arbitration figures. Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater had reached one-year deals to avoid arb earlier in the offseason. The SF Giants' lone remaining case is J.D. Davis. The Giants and Davis appear headed for an arbitration hearing, where Davis' 2024 salary will be chosen by a panel of arbiters. The two sides are fighting over $350K, with Davis seeking $6.9M and the Giants countering with $6.55M. One number or the other will be chosen—nothing in between.

Finally, Dusty Baker's return to the San Francisco Giants is discussed. What will his role be and how much influence will he have? All in all, it's been nice to see the Giants lean back more towards the middle after veering seemingly too far into the deep end of analytics and a lack of feel and soul. Baker has those latter qualities in spades and it's great to have him back.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On X: https://x.com/BenKaspick

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