It's been a season of public embarrassment for Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow -- he's earned it. But he at least made one trade in the offseason that seems to be paying off. On Feb. 1, the Red Sox sent reliever Jordan Hicks, pitching prospect David Sandlin, and $8 million in cash considerations to the Chicago White Sox, taking back only pitching prospect Gage Ziehl in return. It was a full-on salary dump on Boston's part, as the White Sox owed Hicks $16 million through the end of next season following the deal. Given how bad Hicks was in the second half of last season with Boston, it's hardly a surprise that he's been a disappointment for the White Sox thus far. But there are other positives to take away from the deal, too. Let's run through them. Results of Jordan Hicks trade working in Boston's favorJun 1, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher David Sandlin (54) pitches during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images | Jordan Johnson-Imagn ImagesHicks, who surprisingly had a 3.45 ERA in his first 17 appearances as a White Sox, saw that ERA climb to 5.60 only three appearances later before landing on the injured list with a lat strain in late May. Sandlin, who was called up to make his major league debut on May 27, went six strong innings that first night in the majors before allowing 11 earned runs in his next 7 1/3 innings. On Friday night, meanwhile, Ziehl struck out seven consecutive batters as a member of the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. The righty owns a 4.56 ERA on the season, but has struck out 61 batters in 53 1/3 innings and looks as though he at least has a decent shot at the majors someday. The most important part of the trade at this point, though, may be the money involved. With this season looking like a wash, the Red Sox now have an incentive to get under the second luxury tax threshold and avoid harsher draft pick penalties next year. As of Saturday, Boston sits about $8 million over that second threshold, incentivizing trades involving the likes of Sonny Gray, Aroldis Chapman, and maybe Masataka Yoshida. If the Red Sox still had Hicks on the books, they'd have another $8 million to shed. Given that Sandlin likely was destined to become a reliever if he had stayed in Boston, this trade very much belongs in the "would easily do it again" category. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow