The injury bug strikes again. The New York Yankees will be without Aaron Hicks on Opening Day due to an ailing back.
The new $70 million dollar man for the New York Yankees is going to miss Opening Day, according to ESPN’s Coley Harvey. Aaron Hicks recently signed an extension, but his injury woes could cause some to doubt whether the deal was a wise move for the Yankees.
Hicks, who has an ailing back, needed a second cortisone shot which usually means that there is an ongoing problem. Back injuries are never simple and the Yankees need their everyday center fielder healthy if they hope to make a run deep into the postseason.
This is not a new development in Hick’s career though. He has often been injured in the Yankee pinstripes. Hicks has been on the disabled list every year of his big league career and sometimes multiple times a season.
The 14th pick in the 2008 MLB draft was thought of very highly by the Minnesota Twins. But he was later dealt in exchange for John Ryan Murphy in 2015.
The Yankees believed in this skillful outfielder when the Twins did not. Although he struggled early in his Yankee career, the team continued to give him playing time and eventually, he became an everyday outfielder for New York. He has proved the Yankees right by sticking with him. In 2018, he had a career year and was crucial in the team’s 100 wins.
Hicks had 27 home runs, 79 RBI and an impressive 4.7 WAR in 2018 in only 137 games. That was the most games he has played in a season during his six-year career.
Can the Yankees depend on this very talented outfielder for this season and seasons to come or will he become forgotten like he was with his previous team? The team in the Bronx needs the switch hitter in this right-handed dominant lineup for this team to surpass their success of 2018.
Will this star-studded team see the talent of Aaron Hicks and his seven-year extension come to fruition on the field or will they have to piece together an outfield and find gold like they thought they did with Hicks? The Yankees are hopeful they made the right decision, but regardless, New York needs Hicks to make a full recovery.
