Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks will reportedly be ready to play should the 2020 Major League Baseball season begin in late July.
Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks might not miss a single game this season assuming one actually occurs.
As we wait for the results of the vote…tick tock tick tock….#Yankees are optimistic that both Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks should be ready and healthy for a late July Opening Day.
— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) June 22, 2020
In one of the only pieces of good baseball news to come out since February, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reported that the pair of New York Yankees should be ready if the season begins in late July as expected.
For Hicks especially, this is amazing news. He put his body on the line for the Yankees in the 2019 postseason and it paid off tremendously. Who could ever forget when he stole Justin Verlander’s soul?
AARON HICKS SAID SEE YOU LATER‼️
4 runs in the 1st off Verlander ?
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/RwJqkiqbYY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 18, 2019
I love reliving that moment.
Unfortunately, putting his body on the line guaranteed he would need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Hicks is a vital part of the ballclub. If he can return in time for the eventual start of the 2020 campaign, it’d be a huge gain for the team.
It’d also look great on a baseball resume to be the first player in history to never miss a game after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
As for Judge, the season delay helped him avoid the daily scrutiny from the Yankees fanbase in regards to his recovery. The only thing standing between Judge and a long-term extension is him proving that he can stay on the field. No matter how talented he is, Yankee fans will be ruthless if he can’t play a full season. With a potential late July start, however, Judge avoids missing half the campaign on the injured list.
With any luck, both Judge and Hicks will stay healthy for the duration of whatever 2020 brings. The Yankees will certainly need it for this full-out sprint of a season.
