KANSAS CITY, Mo. >> The Giants expect to pencil Jordan Hicks into their starting rotation again in 2025, but his first season as a full-time starter came to an end Friday.

Hicks, 28, was placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder, ruling him out for nine remaining games on the Giants’ schedule and effectively ending his season. The club sent him back to San Francisco, where he will undergo an MRI.

It’s the second time shoulder inflammation has forced Hicks to the IL in the past month, but he vowed to return and “finish strong.” However, after being activated last weekend, Hicks made only one appearance, allowing three runs on four hits over 1 1/3 innings in an 8-0 loss to the Padres.

“Same thing. Just inflammation,” manager Bob Melvin said before the Giants’ 2-1 victory over the Royals in Kansas City. “There were good days and there were bad days. We gave him a couple days off. He went out to play catch yesterday and it just wasn’t responding. We’ll get an MRI and hope there’s nothing in there. There wasn’t, I don’t think, in the last one. It’s just probably wear and tear and you’re probably not going to see him again this year.”

Right-hander Austin Warren was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to fill Hicks’ spot in the bullpen, where he transitioned at the end of July as the workload of a starting pitcher started to pile up.

After earning a reputation as a flame-throwing late-inning reliever in five seasons between St. Louis and Toronto, Hicks signed a four-year, $44 million contract this past offseason after the Giants promised to fulfill his wish to be a starting pitcher, with mixed results.

“It was up and down for him,” Melvin said. “He got off to a great start. Really consistent in what he was doing. He had the whole mentality of a starter. Everything was going really well. Then he just got a little worn down, which you might expect after the innings. He went to the bullpen and it was never really a consistent feel for him.”

In 29 total appearances, Hicks posted a 4.10 ERA over 109 2/3 innings, a substantial increase from his workload last season (65 2/3 innings) and his previous career-high (77 2/3). He collected one performance bonus for reaching 100 innings but was one out shy from collecting another $83,333.

Part of the bargain of becoming a starter meant learning to pace himself and pitch deeper into games. His average fastball velocity dropped from 100.3 mph in 2023 to 95.9 this season while striking out batters at the lowest rate of his career, 7.9 per nine innings.

Hicks’ first month in the rotation was a rousing success, opening the season with five shutout innings in San Diego and going on to post a 1.59 ERA through his first six starts. As injuries piled up in San Francisco’s rotation, Hicks also played an important role at times as the only healthy starting pitcher besides Logan Webb.

However, as the innings added up, so too did the runs on Hicks’ pitching line. He failed to complete five innings for the first time on May 3 and would only pitch into the sixth inning once more time over his final 14 starts, with a 5.29 ERA, before making his first appearance in relief July 28.

Melvin recently confirmed the Giants’ plans to role with Hicks in their rotation next season, and the hope is that with a higher baseline, he can log something closer to a starting pitcher’s regular workload of 150-plus innings.

“You always look at (an increase of) 30 innings, maybe a little bit more, we’ll see,” Melvin said. “But obviously with the way this season went, we’ll monitor it as we go along.”

Only Hicks, Webb and Kyle Harrison can be slotted in with certainty, as Blake Snell is expected to opt out of his contract, and Robbie Ray also has the option but is considered less likely to test free agency.

Behind them, it will be a battle of the young arms who have received brief auditions this season, featuring Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck at full health, plus Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong with a season of big-league experience under them. Carson Whisenhunt has had a tough season at Triple-A but also could also compete for a spot.

Ray a ‘long shot’ to return this season >> The hope when Hicks and Ray both landed on the IL on Aug. 27 was that each pitcher would be able to recover quickly and make it back to the mound before the season ended. It is looking increasingly likely, though that Hicks’ lone appearance last homestand will be the last the Giants see from either this season.

Ray, 32, is scheduled to throw a bullpen today. But with the schedule winding down, Melvin didn’t sound optimistic that he would make another start.

“I doubt it,” Melvin said. “He’s a starter. You want somebody to go out there and throw multiple innings. I’m not sure at this point. But I’m not ruling anything out. I think it’s probably a long shot.”

Ray was trending in the right direction in his recovery from a hamstring strain, and Melvin said he hoped that his simulated game last home stand would serve as a final tuneup before returning to the rotation. However, that session was cut short after 42 pitches and Ray has not ramped up to that degree since.

Chapman set to return >> Matt Chapman is expected to be activated from the paternity list today. His wife, Taylor, gave birth to their first child, a daughter, named Gia, on Thursday.