Aaron Hicks’ Yankees Tenure Needs to End
If you haven’t noticed, the Yankees aren’t playing good baseball. Sure, they have a steady lead in the AL East but in the month of August, the Yankees are only 5-14. There are a multitude of reasons for this lull but a lot of it lies in the hands of outfielder Aaron Hicks.
It’s been a while since Hicks was a good baseball player. In fact, since 2019, his slash line sits at .221/.338/.369 with a below-average OPS+ of 98. It’s trended downhill since hitting 27 home runs and posting an .833 OPS in 2018.
Nevertheless, he’s hit a new low in 2022. Hicks sticks out like a sore thumb in a multi-talented outfield of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. As of Aug. 20, the outfielder is batting .217 with six home runs in 369 plate appearances. His OPS+ sits at 87. Aaron Judge, on the other hand, has an OPS+ of 195.
What hurts even more is the fact that the Yankees traded away fellow outfielder Joey Gallo, who was doing horribly for them in his own regard. That deal currently looks to be coming back to bite them. Since the trade deadline, Gallo has a .915 OPS with three home runs for the Dodgers.
Now how about Hicks’ performance since the deadline? This is where the numbers get really ugly. Since Aug. 2, Hicks is batting .127/.227/.128 with no extra-base hits and ONE run batted in. His batting average has dropped 15 points in 11 games. The Yankees are also 3-9 during that stretch.
His offense is atrocious but so is his defense. Hicks is an outfielder seemingly forced into the role as the Yankees’ centerfielder. His defensive WAR sits at -0.2.
The Yankees did themselves no favors either. They gave the outfielder a seven-year, $70 million contract in 2019. Brian Cashman will have to figure something out in the offseason because Aaron Hicks isn’t the answer.
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