Quick thoughts after the Yankees designate Aaron Hicks for assignment

So long, Hicksie.

Honestly, I’m surprised it happened. Well, no. It’s more like I’m surprised it happened when it happened. The Yankees stuck with Aaron Hicks the last two years and gave him a long leash to show he had something to offer, then they designated him for assignment after a seven-game stretch in which he went 6-for-17 (.353) with two doubles and a home run. Props to the Yankees for not falling for the small sample size hot streak, I guess.

"This is family. You go through everything with these guys. Obviously with Aaron, ups and downs. He's had some really good seasons. Not an easy conversation but one we felt was necessary,” Aaron Boone told Chris Kirschner and Greg Joyce on Saturday. “... Look, I think it was a difficult role for him, to get there and to accept and to thrive in. That played a factor, probably.”

The last three years have been a total disaster – Hicks has hit .209/.315/.310 (83 wRC+) with +0.8 WAR since 2021 – but he was a damn good player once upon a time. Hicksie authored a .247/.362/.457 (123 wRC+) line with +10.1 WAR in over 1,400 plate appearances from 2017-20. Only Mike Trout (+26.6), Lorenzo Cain (+15.2), and Kevin Kiermaier (+11.2) had more WAR among full-time center fielders those four years.

If the Yankees hadn’t signed Hicks to his extension and just let him walk as a free agent after the 2019 season, he would be hailed as one of the shrewdest pickups of the Brian Cashman era. Hicks broke out in 2017 and was an important part of that very fun team, and he followed it with productive seasons in 2018 and 2019. Without the extension, Hicks would have received a polite little applause whenever he returned to Yankee Stadium with his new team.

Instead, Hicks has been booed mercilessly the last two seasons, and it felt like the relationship with the fans was beyond repair. Sitting in Yankee Stadium, his at-bats were cringy because you knew what was coming if he made an out. Moving on from Hicks is a good vibes change. Not within the clubhouse, Hicks is well-liked by his teammates, but among the fans. An increasingly unpopular and unproductive player is gone. It’s too bad it played out the way it did.

“I loved being a Yankee. It was the best time of my career,” Hicks told Erik Boland and Joyce. “... It is what it is. It’s part of the business side of it. Just got to move on to the next chapter. This is a very good baseball team. It kind of seemed like it wasn’t working out for me. Obviously with the decision they decided to make, maybe somewhere else might be a little bit better.”

The 2019 ALCS Game 5 home run against Justin Verlander (video) was very cool, though I’d say Hicks’ signature moment as a Yankee is the Air Hicks catch (video). That diving catch to end the chaosball game in Minnesota on July 23rd, 2019. That is the most memorable defensive play of the Aaron Judge era, and Hicks hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the ninth inning too (video). That was the closest thing to a “The Aaron Hicks Game” game of his time in pinstripes.

The Yankees owe Hicks the remainder of his $10.5M salary this year plus $20M from 2024-25. The total sum (roughly $27.5M) is about what the Yankees ate to release Alex Rodriguez in 2016 and Jacoby Ellsbury in 2019*. I guess that’s their dead money tolerance. $27M or so. Hicks will still count against the luxury tax payroll and all that through 2025. It’ll be like he’s still on the roster.

* Ellsbury filed a grievance and the two sides eventually reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, so the Yankees didn’t pay the full $27M. They didn’t know the settlement was coming when they released him though. They had to be prepared to pay the full amount.

This move needed to happen in the offseason, when there were better replacements available than Greg Allen, but better late than never, I guess. Why now though? I think it’s as simple as the Yankees believe Allen, who only became available this week because of an opt out in his minor league contract with the Red Sox, is better than Hicks, and they did not consider anyone they have in Triple-A to be an upgrade. That's the simplest explanation.

(I’ll have more on Allen in Tuesday’s post. The Yankees picked him up in a minor trade with the Red Sox when he used his opt out and forced Boston to put him on their big league roster or release him. They instead traded him to a team willing to put him on their MLB roster.)

Hicks will clear waivers (no team is claiming him and taking on the contract) and be released, at which point any other team could sign him for the prorated league minimum. Maybe the Yankees can work out a trade, not that they’ll get anything significant in return. It would be cash or a player to be named later. Most likely, Hicks will be released and become a free agent.

There are so many teams and so many outfield spots in the league that Hicks' odds of signing are better than, say, Eric Hosmer’s. The Cubs designated Hosmer for assignment earlier this week and he’s a first base only guy, limiting his options. There are more roster spots potentially available for Hicks. Well, whatever. Whether Hicks catches on elsewhere is none of my concern.

Designating Hicks doesn’t really solve anything for the Yankees. If Allen is an upgrade, he's not a big one, though at least now we don’t have to listen to the boos. Yankee Stadium will be a little less toxic. The Yankees deserve credit for eating the money and moving on. As for the team’s outlook, it doesn’t change a whole lot. They still need to upgrade the bench at the trade deadline. So long, Hicksie. We had some good times.