Manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Hicks will be part of the Cardinals' Opening Day rotation, John Denton of MLB.com reports. Hicks will make his first start Tuesday against the Royals in St. Louis.
The Cardinals said at the end of March that Hicks would serve as a reliever in 2022 with a potential for save chances, but the club will reverse course with Jack Flaherty (shoulder) on the injured list to begin the regular season. The right-hander hasn't yet started at the major-league level, and he posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 10 innings across 10 relief appearances last year. Despite his low innings counts over the past three years, the Cardinals are viewing him as a traditional starter rather than an opener, according to Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Hicks may have lighter workloads in his first couple of outings, but the Cardinals plan to have him steadily build up his pitch counts during his starts.