White Sox predicted to part ways with surprisingly expensive player

The Chicago White Sox have done a tremendous job of expediting their rebuild, and we are seeing the fruits of their labor this season with the team sitting at 34-31 and firmly in contention in the AL Central race.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that every single White Sox player has turned to gold in 2026.

Take Jordan Hicks, for example, whom Chicago acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox back in February. The White Sox took Hicks off the Red Sox’s hands in what was essentially a salary dump by Boston, hoping that he would rediscover his form from several years ago when he appeared to be developing into a decent pitcher.

That certainly hasn’t happened this season, and now, Chicago is stuck with Hicks. At least for now.

Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller recently ran down a list of every team’s player that is most likely to be DFA’d here in 2026, and for the White Sox, the answer was easy: it was Hicks.

Chicago White Sox could cut the cord with Jordan Hicks

Chicago sent pitching prospect Gage Ziehl to the Red Sox in exchange for Hicks, David Sandlin and a couple of players to be named later. Boston sent some cash to the South Siders in the deal, too, but not enough to make up for the disaster that Hicks has been.

“Hicks is presently on the IL with a lat strain and the White Sox still owe him another $8M next season. Factor in the $4M per season that Boston retained when it sent him to Chicago and he actually has the third-highest salary on this roster,” Miller wrote.

The White Sox rank 28th in the majors in payroll, so the fact that Hicks is getting paid more than all but two players on the ballclub is ugly.

“But after both the Giants and Red Sox found a way to trade him away in the past calendar year, the White Sox might just throw in the towel on Hicks if he returns from the shelf every bit as erratic as he had been before the injury: 17.2 IP, 17 BB, 3 WP, 1 HBP,” Miller concluded.

Hicks last appeared in a game on May 20 and does not have a concrete timetable for his return, but Chicago would probably be better off not allowing him into a game the rest of the way.

The 29-year-old owns a lifetime 4.46 ERA and pitched to the tune of a 6.95 ERA as recently as last season, when he split the 2025 campaign between San Francisco and Boston. There really isn’t much of anything to like about Hicks’ profile at this point.

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