Injuries are nothing new for the 2019 New York Yankees and Aaron Hicks is the most recent addition to the 10-day injured list.
And the hits just keep on coming for the New York Yankees. Aaron Hicks is the latest Yankee heading to the 10-day IL, this time with a right flexor strain.
Prior tonight’s game, the Yankees placed OF Aaron Hicks on the 10-day I.L. with a right flexor strain and returned LHP J.A. Happ from the paternity list.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) August 4, 2019
According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the Yankees are shutting down Hicks for seven to 10 days. They’ll begin “ramping up” his activity afterward. There was some initial fear that this issue could require Tommy John.
In 59 games, the center fielder is slashing .235/.325/.443 with 12 home runs and 36 runs batted in.
Hicks joins Luke Voit, Gary Sanchez, Edwin Encarnacion, CC Sabathia, *deep breath*, Luis Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, Dellin Betances, Jordan Montgomery, and David Hale, among a few other notable names on the IL.
Even more remarkable, the Yankees are still miles ahead of the rest of the American League East. They are looking to complete a four-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
If they can pull it off in Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox would be 16 games back in the loss column. The Rays, only nine back entering Sunday, have an outside chance at catching the Bronx Bombers, but it doesn’t appear likely.
Even with all the injuries this season, the Yankees are cruising to their first divisional title since 2012. Expecting the team to enter the postseason fully healthy is folly at this point.
The revolving door of the IL will likely continue in the Bronx for the rest of 2019. However, the “next man up” mentality seems to be working for manager Aaron Boone’s squad.
The rest of his teammates will look to hold the fort down while Hicks gets healthy.
