MAY 16: The Yankees officially placed Hicks on the IL, retroactive to May 13, with a left wrist sprain. LaMarre was indeed selected to the roster in a corresponding move. The 32-year-old has a .236/.286/.338 line in 246 MLB plate appearances over parts of five seasons. He signed a minor league deal with New York over the winter and was off to a .273/.333/.303 start with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees already had a pair of 40-man roster vacancies, so no additional move was needed to accommodate LaMarre’s selection.
MAY 15: The Yankees will indeed place Hicks on the 10-day IL, according to Meredith Marakovits of the YES Network (Twitter link). Ryan LaMarre will be called up to take Hicks’ spot on the active roster, as per Jack Curry of YES.
MAY 14: Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks has suffered a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports. There is no word on how much time Hicks will miss. He could play this weekend, go on the injured list or undergo surgery, per Rivera. He’s on medication for the time being.
This continues a difficult start to the season for Hicks, who hasn’t been able to replicate his strong effort from 2020. The switch-hitting 31-year-old has hit just .194/.294/.333 with four home runs in 126 plate appearances, making it easily his worst production since the Yankees acquired him from the Twins before 2016. Hicks performed well enough in the Bronx from 2017-18 that the team signed him to a seven-year, $70MM extension heading into the 2019 campaign. But Hicks dealt with back and elbow problems that year, limiting him to 54 games, and had to undergo Tommy John surgery after the season.
Although Hicks has had a rough go this year, any extended absence would be a significant blow to New York’s outfield depth. Hicks has played the vast majority of the team’s games this year in center field, starting at the position in 30 of 37 contests. The Yankees’ next option has been Brett Gardner, who has also posted uncharacteristically poor numbers this season, and the club took from its center depth when it traded Mike Tauchman to the Giants for reliever Wandy Peralta in late April.
Of course after Mike Tauchman got traded.
Anyway, going to be tough trying to replace those infield pop-ups and strikeouts with RISP.
Tauchman is even doing worse. After his 3 for 4 first day he is hitting .170 for the Giants with only 3 extra base hits and few walks. He also has a UZR of -2.8 so he is not even good in the OF.
Yankees fans badly overrated that guy based on one good stretch of 2019, Once again he cannot hit the fastball, hits the ball weakly when he does, and every team knows it.
deej, meet small sample.
tad2b13:
Small sample size is his entire career. Outside of that one stretch with the Yankees he has been a bad player. He is hitting just .170 with the Giants after that 3 for 4 with just 3 extra base hits. Those are hard cold facts you can’t refute. He is hitting .111 against the fastball and that is something he has had problems with his entire career outside of that one stretch. His launch angle is 3.1 this year. His UZR has been in the negative every year but 2019. He got badly overrated cause of that one small sample size stretch in 2019.
Other than that stretch he had shown an inability to hit the fastball and generates little power. He also is badly overrrated as a defender. He is not someone you can play everyday as the Giants are finding out and he might not even be a decent backup if he can’t it.. Just look at his numbers outside of that one stretch. They don’t lie. His 2020 and 2021 numbers don’t lie.
deej:
Besides your numbers are wrong, and you’ve cherry-picked the worst of the advanced defensive metrics. UZR is a dumb stat since it doesn’t take shifts into account.
You can’t subtract his best day at the plate and then say he’s only hitting .170. It doesn’t work that way. He’s hitting .229.
In the better defensive stats. He has an 18 DRS playing the OF, with a 4 playing CF. He is also the top ranked LF by OAA, since 2019, his first full season.
Deej may have cherry picked, but your stats are just as useless. Using his career numbers doesn’t refute his current production. And to bring up small sample size is pretty humorous for a player who doesn’t even have a full season’s worth of defensive innings to quantify.
Steve Nebraska:
Production is a reference to hitting. I made no reference to any career hitting numbers. All I said, and I stand by it, is you can’t say something like, ‘other than a very productive span, he’s only hitting such and such’. It all counts. Data cannot be thrown out just because that goes contrary to a particular narrative that’s being put forward.
It’s true that Tauchman comes up short in qualifying, so I’ll pull back on the OAA stats. But DRS is a cumulative stat, and not having played a whole lot, but still being able to accumulate 18 DRS, is not something you can dismiss that easily. If a guy comes up mid-season and hits 10 HRs in his first 20 games, no one is going to dismiss that because he doesn’t have enough ABs to qualify
Tauchman sucks He doesn’t/hasn’t hit for average or power career wise. Doesn’t pass the eye test.
Now who is going to bat third in the order, if not Hicks?
Gio.
Judge needs to stay in the 3 hole. While I know the Yankees would prefer to have a lefty or switch hitter at the top of the lineup, they don’t have any lefties right now worthy of hitting in the 1-5 spots, so the batting order should be:
1) DJ
2) Gio
3) Judge
4) Stanton
5) Torres
6-9) Garbage men (until Voit gets going of course, then Torres to #2, Voit #5 and Gio #6)
It’s been said that you want your two best hitters batting first and second bc it gets them about 15-30 extra plate appearances per season. Gio is an average baserunner at best so I’m fine with him hitting lower in the order. Their offense is clicking lately even with the blackholes in their lineup. When Severino returns and can back to his old form, it’s going to a team to be reckon with.
The offense is slowly coming around, @BleacherCreature.
Hitting is down league wide. Average OPS is .702. So ~ 50 points down from ’19. So some of our guys who are scuffling aren’t as bad as what I’d been thinking.
I don’t think many teams are all that happy to play us even right now. Our ‘pen is absurdly good. I’m holding out any real judgements til the 50 game mark. But I’m willing to say the bullpen will be a force even this early in the season.
Montgomery, Kluber, & even German all look serviceable. Taillon…not too sure about him. We’ve been playing so much better since the Cleveland series. 5th straight series win clinched this evening.
& *then* add Sevi?
This another good Yankee ballclub.
Right on. And they’ll keep it going. Hicks will hurt if it’s long-term. I tore both mine diving for a ball in CF… one healed right away, the other needed surgery, so based on those statistics I’d give him a 50/50 shot!
And to your frequent astutely notes point, Ducky, I heard again the other day analysis on how the statistical basis for the TTO offense is more advantageous for winning in MLB (especially now). Home runs win….
When Severino returns you act like he’s just going to go back to hes successful version he might need the rest of the season just to adjust and who knows if he’s even the same pitcher Matt Harvey ring a bell and he was a better pitcher than Severino.
Periods and commas are your friend
Thoracic outlet surgery is what derailed Harvey’s career. Also…not sure if Harvey was – indeed – the “better pitcher”.
No.
We do not know how he’s going to look.
But a return to his previous form would certainly make us the class of the AL.
@Clip –
We are starting to get on one, uh?
Yanks keep finding ways to win. Much to the chagrin of a few posters on the board.
Funny…haven’t seen those fellas in awhile.
(ahem)
Be good to see us finish off the sweep today. Already won a series on the road, but I’m feeling greedy.
So true.
Hi.
hey ducky how is the top 2 in the rotation been, haven’t been able to follow much baseball here of late but i do know nyy have turned it around after scuffling our the gate.
Me too, Ducky… yeah man, I know you’re right but I find myself trailing back every now and then to the ol’ ex (previous epochs’ lineup structures) every now and again when the Yankees goose egg. Interestingly enough, their perceived weakest pickups from many, have been some of their most consistent in terms of starts in SP, and Kluber has had a few gems already.
If Judge can follow Stanton’s lead and just put bat-to-ball (as if it were that easy) the exit velo alone with give him a significant chance of on base/home run, like Stanton. Sanchez is another story. I don’t know what they did but he came out of the gate with some nice swings, then sunk back inside his own head. Higgy though? C’mon, man, the kid’s impressed, no doubt. If anyone has earned his spot on a team, it’s him. He’s done a nice job on both sides of the ball.
Be patient. Top prospect Estevan Florial has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton. Give him 2-4 weeks to get used to a better grade of pitching.
Florial was also late getting to spring training because of a visa issue. He definitely needs a few more at bats in AAA.
RIP
Geez.
What do you expect from a guy that wants to 69 Fletcher?
No loss
Awful signing though
Another recent Cashman blunder
Guy is made of glass
Bring up Florial and end the Hicks project in Cf. Sucks defensively and is streaky offensively
I never liked Hicks his been glass his whole career. How does Cashman sign a guy for 10 years when his whole career he averages only like 70 games a year. Bring up are young guns give them a shot, they can’t bat any worse then Hicks under 200 batting average. Dump this bum already. Plus we have an over paid DH in Stanton who in the last two years played like 30 games smh. now he’s hurt again. when he pulls something it’s always months before he returns. Yes his been hitting good but what good is he to us if he can’t stay on the field or bat.
Another 5 years to go unless you eat a bunch of dow.
Which Dow product are you suggesting they eat? Styrofoam would be a low-calorie choice, and filling.
Agent Orange!
Why don’t the Yankees’ trainers roll Hicks in bubble wrap before he takes the field?
This is the same thing that Tex had.
He’s done,even if he enjoys a renaissance,it won’t last.
Well.
That sucks.
Despite what some of my fellow Yankee fans – not the most patient lot – are posting, Hicks is a pretty good player, man.
Switch hitter, works the hell outta the count, some pop, some speed, & plays a competent CF. Yanks won’t sink or swim due to him, but he does have a fairly important role on our ballclub.
Interesting informationless update though.
Guess I’m hoping he can play through it.
i usually agree with you ducky, this one is one of the few i think was a mistake signing especially for this length. He was pretty injury prone before the deal (i think only made 100 games 2 out of 6 seasons but correct me if i am wrong as im getting old). Because of this they were kind of forced to keep Gardner around because of the injury history. I am a gardner fan and glad he was around but kind of rather he was more the lead the last year or two as you transition to a youngster and him becoming the true 4th.withthe 4th outfielder becoming the main cf
One of the worst Cashman contracts…Hicks can’t stay healthy and is continually degrading at the plate and his defense isn’t what is was either……time for a change!
It’s easy to say in hindsight but he’s earning only $10m/yr. If Hicks can stay healthy, it’s quite the bargain at today’s going rate. Cashman has made some terrible deals but this isn’t one of them. The Yankees can easily cut Hicks or keep him around as a fourth outfielder if need be.
While i agree with you it could have been a bargain but i said at the time of the contract it was a bad deal. Same as i said Gase was the worst hire for the Jets coach when he was hired.
Also couldnt the same have been said about Jed Lowrie with his 2 year 20M he got from the mets? He was coming off a very productive year if i remember right but everyone myself included tore BVW apart for that and it was for a lot shorter and he was healthier for a longer period before signing with the mets.
Only 4yr @10m per is a bright side and really.. if NY looks to move that 10m hit on payroll tax? They can probably find a taker for a couple of middle prospects if he’s moved before getting much older, without having to pay half what he’s owed. it’s not an awful deal like keep seeing many NY posters make here and they are not exactly the Rays, who may have trouble with the keirmier salary with him always hurt.
@Flyby
Well…man.
Ya know all his injuries are certainly the turd in the punch bowl.
I continually hope to get about 120 games/season out of him. He’s really skilled.
Plus, I was there when he did his Superman impersonation out here against the Twins. Hard for me to forget that.
He didn’t play 100 games in 2017 and 2019 (and of course 2020). That’s the only time, other than his time in the Rookie league. Don’t go just by his major league games played, as he was up and down for several years.
don’t forget, takes days off based on political narratives that have nothing to do with him.
Is that right?
What good is he if he only average 70 games a year since he been in the big leagues. He’s glass and trash batting under 200. How do you sign a guy 10 years with that track record.
I consider this great news. Dude is a bum.
Did he kick your dog too?
If you live in New York for a while, you pick up on the lingo. Bum is a slang term for “guy who bangs my wife.”
Jeeez.
It appears I have been away from The City for too long…
I’m sure Stanton can handle CF right?
Stanton can’t handle DH lol he gets hurt running out ground ball. This is another bad contract from Cash
Well that explains the lousy LH hitting. Looks like Andujar and Stanton will need to put in time in the OF. Hello Ryan Lamarre or Greg Allen.
Ill eat crow on this one….was a big fan of the sign when it happened
He can take rolling hills like a BMW but unfortunately hes built like a Chrysler under the hood
I’m gonna take a wild guess that “could play this weekend” is reasonably unlikely…
Maybe if he gets traded to SD 😉
Time to trade with the Brewers for either Cain, McKinley,JBJ, or Garcia
They should go after more productive players like Hanniger, Santander or maybe even Trey Mancini if Baltimore will agree to part with him. Any of these 3 would love a chance to play for a contender.
How was he able to secure a 7 year deal? That is an awful contract.
In fairness the AAV looked to be a bargain for the beginning of the contract and not (too huge) for the later years upon ink, but yea they’d burn this contract up today if allowed a mulligan
That was exactly my thoughts when I looked up his deal on Spotrac. I could see a three or four year deal but seven years is just nuts! Especially for a guy whose game is propped up by his defensive ability.
Unfortunately, you are going to be saying the same thing about the last 2-3 years of DJ’s contract as well. If the CBT stays in place with the new CBA, the Yankees are in real trouble. There’s no way they can pay Judge & Torres unless they round out their roster with rookies and $1-$2M journeymen. The successful Yankees teams of the 90’s were lauded for their depth. Quality depth for this team is going to be a real problem unless they decide to let Judge & possibly Torres walk.
@Dorothy Their payroll restraints are self-imposed anyway to appease their own shareholders. There is also no way the CBT remains status quo with baseball revenue continuing to rise as that would stagnate player salaries. If Judge and/or Torres earns their keep, the Yankees will give them whatever they want in order to keep their “homegrown” branding intact.
Honestly I don’t give a squat about the owners’ and MLBPA’s squabbles. It’s billionaires vs millionaires. Even the player league min salary is ridiculous by any standard. I get that these players are 1% of 1% of 1% talent. Nobody is actually crying poor. So shut up and stop trying to hang one another’s dirty laundry and let’s just get on with the game since we’re the ones supporting the sport.
Your going to care next offseason Creature trust me, its about to get ugly
Well unfortunately Spotrac couldn’t foretell that he would be a dud batting from one side of the plate, couldn’t stay on the field consistently, would lose a step on defense, and doesn’t bring anything to the party as far as a speed game on the bases….this is the Achilles heel of all these sites that rate players, trades, etc and tries to establish value that in prior days would be established with your eyes and consistent performance…….
It’s a good thing they resigned Gardner. At least the guy stays healthy. Based on what they shelled out to Hicks it was a good safety net.
I’m not making a deal with Milwaukee unless it involves Hader.
Bring up Chris gibbons
@Jpags- yes, I agree with you 100% the Yankees should of brought up Chris Gittens instead of Ryan LaMarre.
Yanks need a CF’er not a 1B. The argument for Gittens is to DFA Ford. Unless Stanton plays LF there’s no spot for Gittens at all.
Mike Ford appears to be a clone of Greg Bird offensively. Probably not going to make it on the Yanks. Even the lowly Mariners returned Ford after taking him as a Rule 5 draft pick.
@StudWinfield- Gardy can play centerfield for now. Didn’t most fans want him back? Smh. Ford does not have to be DFA. He still has options, silly. Gittens is a much better prospect then LaMarre. Yanks should of called him up instead.
“He could play this weekend, go on the injured list or undergo surgery, per Rivera.”
That is a heckuva range of possibilities
You can still play with a torn tendon sheath at the risk of tearing your wrist tendon completelt. Even if he elects for surgery, recovery takes several months and he could be back by August.
Clearly hedging his bet.
For some reason Hicks thinks he is a 40 plus HR guy…especially batting lefty.
If he would only stay within his game he would be better.
I am glad I don’t have a torn sheath.
Do you mean Gittens? He can’t play CF
Who thought it was a good idea to give Aaron Hicks a deal that extends all the way to 2026!? Any way you slice it, that was *never* going to work out.
Look up Hicks career he averages less then 70 games a year since he been on the majors. Glass and trash. Another bad signing by Cash. Stanton glass as well bad signing. I see Cash making another bad signing when Judge is ready.
What are you talking about? Stanton wasn’t signed by the Yankees.
The fate of the Yankees OF lies in their young, stud prospect Dominguez. If he can be the next Tatis Jr. or Soto (at the plate), it will really change the entire direction of the franchise. I believe he’s 18 right now. If he can make it to the majors by age 20 (like Soto), it will be an enormous boost not only to the OF but the team as well.
Ah.
So now we are writing off Clint Frazier after 38 games or whatever. He’s one of your “garbage men”, uh? & what about the best right fielder in the AL?
Is everyone still on an internal clock that believes a baseball season is only 60 games?
Because: they are not.
P.S. That train headed towards the red sox is the Yanks. Choo choo.
What direction is that? Are they on some sort of collision course if Dominguez doesn’t pan out? SP has always been this team’s Achilles heel.
Disagree,
Yankees never need to depend on somebody in the minors, never have never will
Lol… Stop It
Hicks got the deal because he was an above average CF on both sides of the ball in ’17 and ’18. He could have gotten 4yr/$60 mill+ deal but Cash did a DJL and gave him more years at a reduced rate. At the time (and still today) your not getting an above average CF for $10 mill per.
At 10 mill per I thought the risk was justifiable. It’s not working out right now but it’s no where near the killer that the Ellsbury and (to a certain extent Stanton) contracts where/are. Judge contract will be the next big risk but it’s gotta happen.
Well, he played 88 games in 2017, and 137 in 2018……its a real stretch that 2017 was Cashman’s motivation for giving him a long term contract….certainly his defense was above average, but his offensive stats in 2018 probably were the motivation there with Cash hoping he finally shook the injury bug and was putting his game together….alas, we all know, he is made of glass given that he can’t stay on the field, is a switch hitter who can’t hit from one side of the plate, doesn’t have a speed game on the bases, while his calling card defense has regressed.
Arguing about $10 million being justifiable is a bit of a stretch when you consider how many contracts the Yankees are wrapped up in with one dimensional players…..and I’m a fan of this team….but it’s construction/payroll surely makes you scratch your head.
Why is debating a stretch? Isn’t debating POV’s what posting in a forum like this is about?
There are plenty of things to scratch your head about with this franchise but the Hicks deal isn’t high on the list.
Don’t disagree except to say the Hicks thing for Yankee fans is high on the list because it affects the entire outfield….makes the Judge thing about staying healthy and productive a big deal, signing Gardner was a must, Caused the logjam that sent Tauchman to another club…..there are many issues caused by Hicks…just need to dig a little deeper than his overall $$$.
I don’t agree that Hicks caused any of those things. The only thing that he has caused is not having an average CF’er. Gardy signed in part that he did not want to retire and they had little confidence in Tauch being the 4th OF. Judge is big deal all on his own, Hicks has no impact. If they had not resigned Gardy they would be in the exact same position now only they would have Tauch in CF now instead of Gardy. Frazier hitting worse than Hicks and not being CF is making Hicks issues worse team wise.
Stanton, Hicks and DJL are literally the only position players with long term contracts on the roster. Everyone else is year to year. They have a great deal of flexibility in changing direction on the offensive side of things.
A great deal will depend on Judges contract and how long they are willing to go without resetting the CBT tax.
True, but Stanton and Hicks, with Judge probably going to be added to that list, and their penchant for not being able to stay healthy….especially with Stanton being a $30 Million DH, retards their forward planning and team makeup going forward……
I expect him to bat .340 with 30 dingers…
The curse of ellsbury.
Just pay the man.
Hicks is injured!!!!????!!!!
Just in case Ryan Lamarre is reading this.. what a very interesting career. 2nd round draft pick cut after 6th minor league season. 9 teams have brought him aboard since 2016 and he’s back in MLB in 2021 AT 32.. with the Yankees. First time I heard his name was in 2017 when the Angels signed him to a major league contract after he was just cut for the second time and only had 31 AB in the majors. If Boras was not his agent then players need to hire whoever his agent was. Angels were desperate for outfielders, like always, and he had a legit shot at regular playing time only to be traded to the A’s by May and never to see a game in a Angel uniform. Hope he gets off hot and gets to enjoy his dedication to the game. Congrats and welcome back, if only for a game. Go Angels!