Yankees’ Aaron Hicks to Miss Remainder of Post-Season With Knee Injury
Tuesday’s Game 5 series-clinching 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians came at a cost for the New York Yankees, as they’ll be without outfielder Aaron Hicks the rest of the way.
The 33-year-old left the game in the third inning due to injury after colliding with teammate Oswaldo Cabrera. Both players were attempting to catch outfielder Steven Kwan’s 75.0-m.p.h. pop up when their paths crossed down the third base foul line.
Upon collision, the ball appeared to deflect off each of their gloves before falling to the ground for a single, putting runners on first and second base with just one out.
After being assessed by the club’s athletic trainer and manager Aaron Boone, Hicks limped off the field and was replaced by utility player Marwin González. Cabrera, meanwhile, remained in the game.
Luckily for New York, Cleveland scored just a single run in that third inning on a sac fly from José Ramírez, which was the only time they crossed home plate all game. But plenty of concern remained over Hicks’ status.
The 6-foot-1 outfielder spoke to reporters post-game, revealing that he suffered a significant left knee injury that’ll sideline him for at least six weeks. As a result, the veteran switch-hitter will miss the remainder of the playoffs.
New York must now replace Hicks on its postseason roster prior to Game 1 of the ALCS, which begins in Houston against the Astros on Wednesday. Potential replacements could include DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza and Estevan Florial.
The Yankees, however, were already using a match-up-based approach to determine who would start in left field each game, and that strategy is likely to continue moving forward. So chances are González, Cabrera and others will attempt to fill that void left by Hicks.
The 14th overall selection from 2008 certainly didn’t envision concluding his seventh campaign with New York on the injured list. And if not for his current contract running through 2025, it would probably be his last.
The 2022 season was underwhelming for Hicks as he struggled mightily on both sides of the plate, hitting .216/.330/.313 with a 90 wRC+ score across 130 games. He also posted just eight home runs and 40 RBIs, leading to a miserable -2.6 offensive WAR.
Hicks failed to hit for contact and power while proving susceptible to punchouts, resulting in a 24.1 percent strikeout rate – the highest of his career since 2019 (28.2 percent).
Defensively, the former Minnesota Twin proved effective in left field, registering +8 DRS and 1 OAA over 413.0 innings. He wasn’t as productive in centre field, though, producing -4 DRS and -1 OAA through 582.1 innings.
Overall, Hicks was worth 1.4 fWAR during the regular season, his highest rating since 2018 (4.3). Still, due to his offensive woes, he’ll likely be limited to part-time duties next season.
For now, the Yankees remain focused on trying to dethrone the Astros, who swept the Seattle Mariners 3-0 in the ALDS.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Jeffrey Hyde. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.