Cardinals Former Closer Makes Starting Rotation

The St. Louis Cardinals will be heading into the 2022 regular season with Jordan Hicks as their number-five starter.

This is a particularly intriguing development, as Hicks spent his first three seasons in the majors as a reliever. In fact, during the 2019 season, he spent time as the team's closer and racked up 14 saves. Yet, after a rough 2021 campaign that saw him sport a 5.40 ERA in 10 games, perhaps St. Louis wants to see if starting can help him bounce back.

In 112 career appearances with the Cardinals, Hicks has a 5-6 record, 3.64 ERA, and 111 strikeouts. It will be intriguing to see how much these numbers change as he begins his journey as a starting pitcher. It is important to note, however, that he has some experience as a starter in the minor leagues.

Nevertheless, let's see if this big change benefits Hicks. If not, the Cardinals can always simply move him back to the bullpen if needed.