Thanks to the timing of a recent injury, one Yankees outcast can improve his situation by performing well with new opportunities.
A few games into the New York Yankees season, Aaron Hicks made it clear: He was unhappy with his role. More specifically, Hicks didn’t know what his role was, and that lack of clarity was frustrating.
Manager Aaron Boone was honest as well, that Hicks’ opportunities were going to come when it worked, and that they would be irregular.
Over the last season and more, Hicks has been a disappointing performer in pinstripes. Along with players like Joey Gallo and Josh Donaldson, he’s been a player causing fans to pull their hair out more often than cheering.
This year has been not much better. His batting average is .158, and though in seasons past he has brought a workable OBP to the plate, he’s .200 there so far this year, worst among any player on the team who has appeared in 10 games or more.
Now, though, Hicks has an incredible opportunity to make himself useful and to completely change his fortunes.
Aaron Hicks has a perfect opportunity to control his destiny
Giancarlo Stanton hit the 10-day IL on Sunday afternoon. He’s getting an MRI to assess a hamstring injury.
That’s the new wound. On the other end, the existing wounds are still healing: Outfielder Harrison Bader is ready to go, but still needs to ramp up to speed and go through his rehab assignment in AAA.
So, that means if the Yankees have a gap in outfield, Hicks is the guy. He’ll start getting reliable innings in the outfield, and more at-bats in turn as well. But it’s temporary, as soon as Bader returns (5-10 games is a reasonable estimate), those opportunities will likely dry back up.
The timing is perfect for Hicks to finally prove himself. Frankly, the results of that will be good for both the Yankees and him, and it would result in a change of scenery.
Getting playing time is going to be tough for Hicks on this Yankees team that is chock-full of outfielders. They also have more left-handed hitters now, so his switch-hitting ability isn’t as attractive for the overall team schematic as it used to be.
Instead, Hicks needs to play well so the Yankees have a resume to show teams when they look to sell him in the trade market. Right now, they would sell him for pennies on the dollar. Even a small sample of strong play from Hicks would go a long way to convincing teams there’s a rebuilding project worth buying here.
It’s could be now or never for Hicks.