Jordan Wicks, No. 38 in your program, is a victim of the numbers game. Not necessarily just ‘his’ numbers, or even the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of things, but the numbers in the recent track records of Matthew Boyd, who occupies what some would consider Wicks’ legitimate spot, in terms of placement and handedness, and of Colin Rea, who likewise, at least for now, eclipses Javier Assad. The numbers on their contracts dictate that they be leveraged as much as possible. You can tell me that this isn’t so, but I see what I see.
Of course, we have a whole spring still to play, and we eagerly await developments, but the penciling on the bullpen wall is pretty easy to see, and those two guys are very possibly occupants of said bullpen, long relievers/spot starters, until 2026, when they’ll be looking at the grim specter of the CBA negotiations looming over the proceedings.