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Right-hander Jordan Hicks and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a four-year, $44 million contract, sources told ESPN, with the plan being to convert him from the bullpen into a full-time starter.

Hicks, 27, has experience as a starter, working there almost exclusively in his two minor league seasons and spending eight games in the rotation with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2022. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, he has a starter’s build, and even if his velocity recedes with the move, he will still be among the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball.

A source said Hicks can also make up to $2 million per year in performance bonuses.

Perhaps the most sought-after relief pitcher at the 2023 trade deadline, Hicks was dealt from the Cardinals to the Toronto Blue Jays for two prospects. He finished the season with 81 strikeouts in 65⅔ innings between the two teams, allowing just four home runs while saving 12 games.

Among all qualified pitchers, his 100.3 mph average on his four-seam fastball was second in the majors to Jhoan Duran (101.8 mph) and his 101.1 mph average on his sinker was second only to Aroldis Chapman, according to Statcast.

The deal, which is pending a physical, adds Hicks to a deep complement of starting options. Ace Logan Webb is the only guarantee in San Francisco’s rotation, with Hicks, right-hander Ross Stripling, left-handed prospect Kyle Harrison and right-hander Keaton Winn also vying for spots. San Francisco traded for former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray, who is expected back from Tommy John surgery after the All-Star break, while veteran Alex Cobb is expected to miss the beginning of the season following hip surgery.

Hicks is best known for his blazing fastball, a pitch that dips and darts with uncommon movement for its velocity. He debuted in St. Louis’ bullpen at 21, less than three years after the Cardinals chose him in the third round out of a Houston-area high school.

He had Tommy John surgery in June 2019 after saving 14 games in 15 opportunities for the Cardinals. Hicks then opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 season, citing preexisting health concerns, as he was diagnosed in high school with Type 1 diabetes. He returned in 2021, only to experience another setback with right elbow discomfort. He went on the injured list in early May and did not pitch again that season.

When he came back in 2022, Hicks built up to start, throwing 24⅔ innings over seven games with a 5.84 ERA before going on the injured list. He returned as a reliever — and opened one July game — and stayed in the bullpen through the end of last season. In his 25 games with Toronto, Hicks posted a 2.63 ERA and finished strong in the best season of his big league career.

San Francisco has cycled through a litany of starting pitchers in recent years, with Stripling, Winn, Sean Manaea, Alex Wood and Jakob Junis all pitching out of the bullpen as well last season as the Giants went 79-83 and fired manager Gabe Kapler. If Hicks doesn’t remain in the rotation, he would join Camilo Doval and make up the hardest-throwing back end of a bullpen in baseball.

Hicks is the third free agent to sign with the Giants this winter, joining center fielder Jung Hoo Lee (six years, $113 million) and catcher Tom Murphy (two years, $8.25 million).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Hurricanes: ‘Tough look’ not sticking up for Aho

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Hurricanes: 'Tough look' not sticking up for Aho

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Carolina Hurricanes regretted not sticking up for star center Sebastian Aho when he was mauled by Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk late in their Game 3 loss on Saturday night.

In the third period, with the Panthers cruising to a 6-2 win and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, Tkachuk went after Aho with a series of shoves and cross-checks, eventually putting him in a headlock and bringing him down to the ice. The incident was seen as retaliation for Aho’s low hit on Florida’s Sam Reinhart that injured him in Game 2 and kept the forward out of the lineup on Saturday.

“I don’t really look at it as intent or intimidation at all. It’s just sticking up for teammates,” said Tkachuk, who was given a roughing penalty and a 10-minute misconduct. “We’re a family in there. It could happen to anybody and there’s probably 20 guys racing to be the guy to stick up for a teammate like that. That’s just how our team’s built. That’s why we’re successful. I don’t think any of us would be thrilled at that play in Game 2.”

But while Tkachuk was on top of Aho, who remained in the game, there was no chaotic response from the Hurricanes, nor any retaliation for the rest of the game. Carolina forward Taylor Hall said, in hindsight, there needed to be some reaction.

“I think what happened is that we don’t want to take penalties after the whistle, and they’re very good at goading you into them. But we have to support each other and make sure all five of us are having each other’s backs,” Hall said. “That was a tough look there, but we’ll battle for each other to no end.”

Coach Rod Brind’Amour said there needed to be a response, especially since the game was all but over on the scoreboard

“In that situation, there probably does. There’s a fine line. You don’t want to start advocating for that kind of hockey, necessarily. But with the game out of hand, yes, we have to do a better job of that with the game out of hand,” he said.

The Hurricanes face elimination on Monday night in Sunrise. They also face a 16th straight loss in the Eastern Conference finals, a streak that stretches back to 2009.

“We’re going to give our best tomorrow,” Hall said. “I think that we have a belief in our room, honestly. We’re playing for our season.”

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Stars rule forward Hintz out for Game 3 vs. Oilers

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Stars rule forward Hintz out for Game 3 vs. Oilers

EDMONTON — Dallas forward Roope Hintz has been ruled out for Game 3 of the Stars’ Western Conference finals series against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.

Hintz was a game-time decision for Dallas after leaving the third period of Game 2 on Friday with an injury. The center took a slash from Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse less than four minutes into that final frame and was helped off the ice without appearing to put weight on his left leg.

Stars’ coach Pete DeBoer said on Saturday they were awaiting test results on Hintz before determining his status for Game 3. Hintz travelled with the team from Dallas and arrived at Rogers Place on Sunday without wearing a walking boot.

DeBoer still declared Hintz’s status uncertain about an hour before puck drop. Hintz took warmups with the Stars before Game 3 but left several minutes early without participating in line rushes.

Hintz has five goals and 11 points in 15 postseason games and ranked fourth on the Stars in regular-season scoring with 28 goals and 67 points in 76 games.

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Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

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Horse trainer Clement dies from rare eye cancer

Christophe Clement, who trained longshot Tonalist to victory in the 2014 Belmont Stakes and won a Breeders’ Cup race in 2021, has died. He was 59.

Clement announced his own death in a prepared statement that was posted to his stable’s X account on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, if you are reading this, it means I was unable to beat my cancer,” the post said. “As many of you know, I have been fighting an incurable disease, metastatic uveal melanoma.”

It’s a type of cancer that affects the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. It accounts for just 5% of all melanoma cases in the U.S., however, it can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body in up to 50% of cases, according to the Melanoma Research Alliance’s website.

The Paris-born Clement has been one of the top trainers in the U.S. over the last 34 years. He learned under his father, Miguel, who was a leading trainer in France. Clement later worked for the prominent French racing family of Alec Head. In the U.S., he first worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

Clement went out on his own in 1991, winning with the first horse he saddled at Belmont Park in New York.

“Beyond his accomplishments as a trainer, which are many, Christophe Clement was a kind and generous man who made lasting contributions to the fabric of racing in New York,” Dave O’Rouke, president and CEO of the New York Racing Association said in a statement.

Clement had 2,576 career victories and purse earnings of over $184 million, according to Equibase.

“I am very proud that for over 30 years in this industry, we have operated every single day with the highest integrity, always putting the horses’ wellbeing first,” he wrote in his farewell message.

One of his best-known horses was Gio Ponti, winner of Eclipse Awards as champion male turf horse in 2009 and 2010. He finished second to Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In the 2014 Belmont, Tonalist spoiled the Triple Crown bid of California Chrome, who tied for fourth. Tonalist won by a head, after not having competed in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness that year.

Steve Coburn, co-owner of California Chrome, caused controversy when he said afterward the horses that hadn’t run in the other two races took “the coward’s way out.” He later apologized and congratulated the connections of Tonalist.

Clement’s lone Breeders’ Cup victory was with Pizza Bianca, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Clement had seven seconds and six thirds in other Cup races.

“It was Christophe’s genuine love for the horse that truly set him apart,” Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horseman’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said in a statement. “He was a consummate professional and a welcoming gentleman whose demeanor was always positive, gracious and upbeat.”

Clement’s statement said he would leave his stable in the hands of his son and longtime assistant, Miguel.

“As I reflect on my journey, I realize I never worked a day in my life,” Clement’s statement said. “Every morning, I woke up and did what I loved most surrounded by so much love.”

Besides his son, he is survived by wife Valerie, daughter Charlotte Clement Collins and grandson Hugo Collins.

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