NEW YORK – The Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks hurt his left knee following a collision with rookie shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera in the third inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday. The knee injury requires him to rest for at least six weeks ending any possibility of his return during this year’s playoffs.
Aaron Hicks underwent an MRI, which showed that the injury would take six weeks to heal. The outfielder later told reporters:
“Extremely disappointing. This season is obviously something special and I want to be a part of it. And now I’m no longer going to be able to play on the field to help this team win, help this team win a World Series and now I just gotta watch on the sidelines.”
The Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-1 in the decisive Game 5 on Tuesday to move on to the AL Championship Series. They will play the top-seeded Astros in Houston starting on Wednesday. Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge both hit home runs to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead in the third inning.
Cleveland’s Steven Kwan hoisted a flying pitch from Nestor Cortes over the third base. While Cabrera ran after the ball to catch it, Aaron Hicks too rushed from the outfield to get hold of it.
When Aaron Hicks tried to catch the popup, he got his feet tangled up and crashed into Cabrera’s upper body with his left shoulder. Aaron Boone, the manager of the Yankees, and Tim Lentych, the head trainer of the Yankees, went right over to Aaron Hicks, who was down for a few minutes. Before he was taken out of the game, he tried out his running skills.
“Having a hard time moving around out there,” Boone said in a television interview after the game.
Cabrera looked fine and stayed in the game.
Marwin González, who was brought in to replace Aaron Hicks on defense, played his first postseason game for the Yankees. González hasn’t played much on the left field at Yankee Stadium this season. He has only played there eight times so far.
The Yankees have a lot of options in their lineup to make up for Aaron Hicks’ absence, especially now that DJ LeMahieu (right foot pain) is likely to be back in the infield.
This season, both Gonzalez and Cabrera have played in the outfield. Since his first game in the major leagues on August 17, Cabrera has played in the outfield 37 times, including three in the postseason. Tim Locastro, who is fast, also played 26 regular-season games in the outfield, mostly as a defensive replacement.
Matt Carpenter also played 15 times in the outfield for the Yankees. He was activated for the playoffs after being out with a broken foot since August 8. Carpenter, who has only been able to use his left-handed bat off the bench, has said that he is healthy and that he could play outfield.
Aaron Hicks wasn’t happy to see others taking over him, especially with Harrison Bader and Cabrera.
Is losing Hicks a blow to the Yankees’ postseason plans?
