Aaron Hicks hasn’t had a good full-year season since 2018, but as of now, general manager Brian Cashman thinks he’s the favorite to be the regular left fielder this season, unless the Yankees trade for or sign a free agent before Opening Day. But Yankees fans are not happy with this expression of confidence in a player who remained in news last season for the wrong reason.
Speaking on MLB Network Radio, Cashman said Aaron Hicks is fully recovered from the knee injury he got in the playoffs, and they hope he can get back to his form, which led the Yankees to sign him to a seven-year, $70 million extension in 2019.
“I suspect he will be the guy that emerges [in left field] because he is still really talented and everything is there,” Cashman told on MLB Network Radio. “Hopefully we can get the Aaron Hicks we know is in there back as a consistent player for us.”
Aaron Hicks, who is 33, has had trouble getting back to his old form since he had surgery to fix a torn sheath in his left wrist in 2021. He has been below average at the plate for the last two years. He couldn’t keep his job in center field, and when Harrison Bader came back from his foot injury late in 2022, Aaron Hicks couldn’t play anymore.
In September, Aaron Hicks told The Post that he would be open to a trade if it meant he could play more.
“As of right now, I feel the more I play, the better I’m gonna play,” Hicks said at the time. “That’s not what’s going on right now. Things are tough in New York. I don’t have an answer. If they feel this isn’t the right fit for me, that’s their call. If I do go to another team, I know I can help them win.”
Cashman acknowledged that he has tried “a lot” to find a left-handed hitting left fielder this offseason but without any success.
Cashman explained: “We have lines out on certain opportunities. These opportunities include Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds, Minnesota’s Max Kepler, and the free agent Jurickson Profar. So what if it happens in February or March? Or we make do with what we’ve got.”
Oswaldo Cabrera is another candidate for the position, and Cashman brought up Estevan Florial again. But neither of them has played in the major leagues before.
Cashman also said that Frankie Montas, who has had shoulder problems since July, was checked out by Dr. Neal ElAttrache and given an MRI and other diagnostic tests this offseason, but no physical problems were found. Before the August trade deadline last year, the Yankees got a right-handed pitcher from the A’s. He struggled in eight regular-season games before being shut down. But Montas’s “hesitancy” about his shoulder made the team decide to put off the start of his throwing program. At least the first month of the season will go by without him. Cashman told:
“Ultimately, we want the mind and body to be right. If we have any other issues [with Montas’ shoulder], I don’t know what’s next.”
Aaron Hicks is owed a little more than $30 million over the last three years of his contract. If he is still a Yankee on August 8, when his 10-and-5 rights are set to start, he would be able to stop any trade. If a player has been in the MLB for 10 years and has played for the same team for the last five seasons in a row, he or she can say no to a trade.
Fans not ready to accept Aaron Hicks
However, fans are not pleased with Cashman rooting for Aaron Hicks.
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