The Yankees and Twins have announced a two-player deal involving important young players. New York will add center fielder Aaron Hicks in the swap, while Minnesota receives catcher John Ryan Murphy.
It’s somewhat surprising to hear that Minnesota has parted with Hicks, who finally seemed to turn the corner last year after previously having failed to gain traction in the majors. The 26-year-old is an exceptional defender who faced some questions with the bat. But he ended the 2015 campaign with a .256/.323/.398 batting line and swiped 13 bags on the year. That supported a tally of 1.3 rWAR and 1.5 fWAR over 97 MLB games.
But the Twins organization obviously has plenty of outfield talent coming, including top prospect Byron Buxton and the well-regarded Max Kepler. Eddie Rosario is another option, as are Oswaldo Arcia and Danny Santana, and the club appears increasingly interested in utilizing young slugger Miguel Sano in left.
The real motivation for the deal, from the Minnesota side, was the team’s reported interest in finding an upgrade behind the plate, where Kurt Suzuki had struggled. Murphy will obviously represent a long-term piece in that area, as he comes with five more years of control (two of which will be at a league minimum salary), though whether or not he’ll rate as a solid, full-time regular remains to be seen. Certainly, he figures to be given plenty of opportunity after the team made a significant investment to acquire him.
Murphy, 24, has seen at least some MLB action in each of the last three years, but saw his most extensive time last year. Over 172 big league plate appearances, Murphy slashed .277/.327/.406 — approximately league average overall and rather useful for a catcher. He’s never done a ton of damage with the bat in the minors, and tends to be described more as an average future player than a budding star. But Minnesota was looking for reasonably-priced, solid production in this deal, and Murphy could well deliver that.
The addition of Hicks is rather interesting for an organization that had been rumored to be weighing a swap of left fielder Brett Gardner. Hicks is a switch-hitter who is better from the right side and is capable of playing center, making him a useful piece even if Gardner is retained. (He could spell Gardner in left, Jacoby Ellsbury in center, and the aging Carlos Beltran in right.) But with the left-handed-hitting Dustin Ackley also a corner outfield possibility, Gardner certainly is much more expendable.
But New York will hope that Hicks can ultimately reach his ceiling as a quality, regular center fielder. GM Brian Cashman expressed just that sentiment , saying that the organization views Hicks as a future regular, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link). While he was much better against left-handed pitching last year, Hicks did post a reasonable .235/.302/.359 slash when facing opposing righties.
If he can continue to mash lefties and manage even a palatable batting line from the southpaw side of the dish, Hicks probably has enough defensive and baserunning value to play every day. He’ll surely hope to play his way into just such a role over the four years of control he’ll bring to the Yankees.
Giving up Murphy probably didn’t come easily, as he was a well-regarded piece of the system for quite some time. But he was blocked by Brian McCann. The same fate befell Francisco Cervelli last year. GM Brian Cashman and co. obviously felt that Murphy had more value as a trade piece than with the club. The Yankees believe that young backstop Gary Sanchez can step in at the major league level behind McCann, GM said, as Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets. And Austin Romine also represents an option.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yes! Bye bye Gardner! Hicks had a monster second half!
I think it means no Young not that you will trade Gardner
The loyalty of Yankee fans is laughable. I understand the guy had an awful second half but Gardner was an all star. He’s been a consistent piece of the Yankee lineup for years and all the fans want him out. I don’t get it
If I were a Yankee fan, I’d want them to trade Gardner simply for his trade value. New York could get a good young player or two from him.
I’d want them to do it even more with this Hicks acquisition. Then again, I’m not a Yankees fan, so what’s it matter?
Big Yankee fan but I trade Gardner simply because he is the only tradable piece. Can’t move elsbury and if Gardy can get a solid, young, controllable rotation piece then that’s what needs to be done.
Couldn’t agree more. I’m a Yanks fan and it’s sickening. Only reason I would want him out is if it means improving the club for the future. Gardner collapsed in the second half due to injuries. He is still a good player, and one hell of an asset to the clubhouse.
Not all disaster, his power numbers have been good the past 2 seasons.
A lot of fans are like that, they see numbers that are bad and just turn completely around on a guy, who was actually playing hurt for 4 months. Love Gardner, one of my favorite players in the last decade or so, but if he can bring more value to the team long term in a trade then do it.
Sample size is your friend.
Huge Yankee fan and it has nothing to do with us wanting Gardy out and everything with the fact that we need to add a solid rotation piece and Gardy is the only solid player with a team friendly contract that is of any value elsewhere. I would love to move elsbury and his garbage contract or Beltran but that isn’t gonna happen.
Hicks had 8 homers and 24 rbis to go along with a .250 batting average in the second half…how is that a “monster” second half exactly?
You need to look at what Hicks had done prior to that. For him, it was monster.
The point is that a .720 OPS is still mediocre. No way you can describe that as a “monster second half”
That’s irrelevant, isn’t it? If you’re the worst player on the team, then double your production and become, well, the worst player on the team, that’s not “monster”. Hicks wasn’t the worst on the Twins, but his second half, while decent, was certainly not “monster,” despite the good news that it was a solid improvement for a 1st round draft pick who was literally on his last legs.
.720 OPS is considered a monster second half?? Keep your expectations low for Hicks, good defender and has plate discipline but has little power with a low average.
Well, I’m not one to put a whole lot of value on defense, but he plays good defense at a premium position, and a lot of people say .720 is perfectly acceptable combined with that. Look at Andrelton Simmons, his OPS was .660 this year and he was still a 4 rWAR player this year.
A “monster second half”??? That’s not really supportable.
Let’s just say my reaction was a bit ridiculous…
Gardner is the most consistent hitter in the lineup.
Hicks is a pretty solid 4th outfielder. Putting him in a better hitters park wont hurt.
Gardner is gone. I like Hicks, he’ll be decent. JR Murphy gone, good chance Sanchez will be up along side Romine and McCann.
Romine wlll never be a major league player. He cannot hit. Whenever the Yanks let him play everyday due to injury to the starting catcher in the last couple of years, he batted about .100. He can’t hit, even in triple A. The Yanks waived him last season and no other team was interested.
I think Gardner will be traded, but Hicks is replacing Chris Young, not Gardner.
This doesn’t mean gardner’s gone. Good pick up. Means Gary Sanchez is here to stay. I’m guessing they give Sanchez a first base mitt, to back up Tex. love his bat, can’t wait for middle of the order to be all home grown with Sanchez, Bird and Judge!
On the other hand, Murphy is an all-star caliber talent. The Twins certainly got value in this one
Did you say all-star?
Not all star caliber, but he’s a very solid catcher. Wonder if he will be the Twins starting catcher or a backup to Suzuki.
Murphy’s a…..what? It sounded like you said “alll star caliber” but that can’t be it.
Wow. Sad to see Murphy go, as he performed well in the limited time he played. Wish him the best of luck out there in Minnesota. However, I am pleased with getting Hicks out of him. Solid ball player. Will be interesting to see if this is a precursor to a Gardner deal.
I feel like it’s almost a forgone conclusion, now, that Gardy will be traded. We don’t need 3 CF type players. Gardner has the most value right now. Just a matter of who we can get in return. If they do trade him, though, it will, almost certainly, be for a starter.
Mets would you take Gardner to be your CF?
I would not. Gardner’s defensive metrics in CF are not that great so you really need to view him as a LF or RF. That said…..I would not take him for either corner OF either. If you put Granderson and Gardner side by side….they are pretty similar players with Grandy getting the edge thanks to more power plus we have Conforto in LF.
They would, but if you’re thinking of getting somebody like Harvey for him that won’t happen.
No, but for two reasons. First, they’d probably have to give up quite a bit for him. Second, I’m of the opinion that a lot of Lagares’ problems this year were injury related. I firmly believe that a fully healthy Juan in CF is a 3-4 WAR player if he can manage a ~90 OPS+. Note how much better he looked from August onward, when he received regular rest to get healthy.
I’m irrationally upset about this. The move itself doesn’t make too much sense as a stand-alone, so there’s probably going to be follow-up moves. Good like SKJRM, I’ll miss you!
I know the Pirates have Diaz waiting in the wings for after Cervelli but i always thought JRM would be a ice addition to the Pirates collection of former Yankee Catchers
I was thinking the same thing. With the emergence of Diaz and the presence of McGuire behind him, there really isn’t room for Murphy on the Pirates..though it would have been cool to see him follow Martin, Stewart, and Cervelli.
If they can get a good young starter for Gardner then this will be quite a coup for Cashman. He continues to make the team younger while retaining payroll flexibility and keeping the best prospects.
You would think a team like Kansas City would be interested in Gardner if they don’t resign Alex Gordon. They both play a similar game, and Gardner would offer a bit more payroll flexibility moving forward, and a shorter commitment. I think KC have a few intriguing names that would make sense for the Yankees.
I’m fine with the move. This means Gary Sanchez will be the new back up.
Probably one more year of Romine as a backup. Sanchez late call up and then next year the backup or 1B
Seems like this could prelude a trade of Brett Gardner. Possibly to the Mariners? This Hicks-JRM trade could set up the first major trade aside from the Karns-LoMo trade last week. Looks like a good deal for both parties. Cashman has been busy today. Traded Jose Pirela and John Ryan Murphy.
I agree 100%. Could see Gardner being gone in days.
I think more of the padres i see gardner going towards San diego so if they yankees do decide to trade Andrew miler (Though they shouldn’t) they can aquire craig kembrel.
I don’t see why the Yankees would trade Miller to acquire Kimbrel. Seems like a lateral move.
I’ve heard that they could try to trade Miller for a SP in their rotation. And then trade prospects for Kimbrel. I know that a Miller-for-Strasburg deal has been mentioned by some analysts.
Why would Washington do Miller for Strasburg? They already have 2 closers, they don’t need another.
Strasburg walks at the end of the year. Maybe a deal like Strasburg or Storen/Paps (whoever the Yanks want) could work. Would probably need another piece or two here and there to make it work but that could be a decent foundation. This also depends on how highly the Yanks value Strasburg/Storen/Paps
“trade Miller for a SP in their rotation. And then trade prospects for Kimbrel.”
Why not just sign an SP, of which there are several options this year (plus, Stras is one of the only good options next year and will therefore cost a ton), or just trade ‘prospects’ for an SP?
Kimbrel and Miller put up similar numbers though Kimbrel costs a little more. Seems like a Rube Goldbergian option to trade Miller and then trade other guys for Kimbrel. You already have a Kimbrel-type and his name is Andrew Miller.
a good trade aaron hicks was blocking buxton and murphy was blocked by mccan, hicks also has that fun short porch in right field as well as the ablity to steal bases off the bench, helps new york strengthen there bench a bit as well as give twins a (and i use this term lightly) “upgrade” at catcher only because JRM has not shown his full potiental yet
I’m a Yankees fan and seem to be in the minority regarding Gardner. He certainly had a bad second half and seems to get dinged and dented easily. But he plays hard and is home-grown, which is endearing. Can’t argue with his trade value/affordability though. Hard to say it, but this trade seems to further open the door to his being dealt.
Great trade for the Twins, now we can see an outfield of Kepler-Buxton-Rosario and Suzuki will now be backup catcher. Good riddance Hicks, talented player but so painful to watch, especially at the plate.
You shouldn’t be so hard on 23 year olds, learning at the big league level is quite a task.
Uhhhh he’s 26, with eight years (3 partial) in the minor leagues. Don’t think he’s going to get a whole lot better. I assume you’re not a Twins fan, otherwise you would understand how hard it’s been to watch him over the last three years.
Actually, the GM has said that he wants to use Sano in the OF. So, Sano-Buxton-Rosario for now.
Plouffe is going to be traded, Sano is going to play third. He might play some left but it’s ridiculous to think that LF is going to be his primary position going forward being that he’s 6’5 260 pounds.
If Kyle Schwarber can play in LF I’m sure Sano could play a few games there lol.
Of course he could, but only for a few games here and there. He’s going to be a 3B/DH
I thought Schwarber was terrible in left?
Terrible is an understatement
Oh he was, that was my point lol. Even if Sano was terrible he could afford to play there on the rare occassion if needed.
Except Schwarber CAN’T play LF.
Big difference between can’t and shouldn’t lol. Could he? Yes. Should he have played LF? No.
Detroit would happily take Gardner off your hands
Tigers do have interest in reuniting with Andrew Miller, so I suppose they could add in Gardner there. But Yankees would be looking for a SP in return at least, and that is what the Tigers are looking for. So, I don’t really see a match between the Yankees and Tigers.
Hmm, maybe a trade of Kinsler for Gardner would work. I believe Ackley is hardly the answer.
Chris Young mashes lefties and plays CF, Hicks mashes lefties and plays CF. Nice.
I don’t see this leading to a Gardner trade. I see them with full insurance for McCann, Tex and all three injury prone OF with MLB talent and all three replacements young enough to replace those guys. When A-Rod is gone, McCann can DH, Tex will be gone with Bird there, Sanchez behind the plate, Hicks to replace Beltran next year.
I see this in a bigger picture. When Gardner does leave, that will be the big bat and/or Judge. Didi has proven he can stick as a MLB regular, they have many options at 2B to try out (mainly Ackley and Ref) and Headley has three years left.
Hicks is almost the exact same player Chris Young is, albeit younger with a ceiling that hasn’t been reached yet. He will fill Young’s role and possibly more.
Switch hitter too.
I mean he tries, but any Twins fan will tell you, he really isn’t.
He was so bad at it, for awhile he just gave up on switch hitting.
I view Hicks as an everyday player too, but in 2016, I view him as a 4th OF who gets more than 500 AB which is about 150 more than he’s had in his career to this point. In 2017? Him, Judge and Ellsbury may make up the OF, or they get a middle of the order bat to make up for what is lost in Tex and A-Rod. Either way, I can see this move leading to something else, just don’t necessarily buy into it being Gardner.
If anything, I can see them going with Hicks/Judge throughout 2016 and trading Beltran in a walk year.
unforunitly for Hicks hes not going to hit Leftys as hard as young , but alot better defensively then Young is
Possibly. Cashman just stated that he thinks this could lead to more move(s) in the future, regarding Gardner. He views Hicks as a future everyday player.
This virtually ensures that Gardner will be dealt in a trade. If the rumors are true, I’d love to get Paxton for him from Seattle. Still need some pop though. Perhaps a J. Upton signing is forthcoming?
No, it doesnt “ensure” it – Chris Young and Gardner co-existed, Hicks and Gardner can too.
After dishing out big money to outfielders in the past, like Gardner, Ellsbury, and Beltran, I don’t really see the Yankees pursuing a major free agent OF like Justin Upton or Jason Heyward. I know some people have predicted the Yankees getting one, but I don’t think it’ll happen.
I think if you’re the Yankees, you have to go after heyward. You guys have gotten so screwed on the back end of contracts, and hewyard’s contract would end roughly when he’s 34. All it takes is money, and you actually get the full prime of a player.
As much as paxton would be a cool idea i dont think he would fit in new york right now, they need more of a front of the line starter paxtons a number 3 starter currently* which the yankees dont need exactly they need more of an Ace.
* can develop into ace but of current standing is more of a number 3 starter behind walker and King felx
Yankees reportedly had interest in James Paxton. So, it seems like a deal that includes Paxton and Gardner is possibly coming.
Where is he playing though? Obviously in the outfield but then the outfield would be Ellsbury, Upton, Beltran, Gardner (assuming he isn’t traded) and Hicks. Beltran can’t move to DH bc A-Rod is there. You would be paying somebody here about $15 million or more to be a pinch hitter or platoon guy? The yanks would be better off waiting to next offseason to sign a big name since they would be dropping a ton of salary.
If the Yankees signed Upton, then Gardner is definitely gone.
RIP Aaron Hicks’ beard
I’m not a fan of this deal from a Yankee’s perspective. Catching is not that easy to find, Murphy looked like he was beginning to emerge, and Hicks is 26–not really a prospect now, may just be a 4th outfielder. Both are obviously controllable, but I’m sorry to see Ryan go.
I’ll miss JRM
A year ago my wife, then my fiance, ate at NYY Steak in Manhattan on a Friday night. Yankee game was rained out. Him and a woman sat right next to us. He was kind enough to take a picture with me, but the best and most interesting thing of it all, he gave us his dessert that they didn’t want.
The Twins have been very active so far this off season. I’m a little disappointed to lose Hicks, the Yankees did well to acquire him. He’s got a great skill set and was just starting to show it on the mlb level. At the same time, I’m glad the Twins addressed the catcher position, they badly needed help at that position.
Hicks is not replacing Gardner. He’s replacing Chris Young
As a RedSox fan, I really hate it when Brian Cashman makes a smart move. I think this is a very smart move.
I like the move, hope Hicks will be like Ackley and have the park help him, but thought Heathcott deserved a spot too.
I wonder how long it takes before Yankee fans hit Hicks in the head with a baseball…
Gardner only gets traded if the yanks get a Heyward or Upton, preferably Heyward as a Yankees fan. Hicks is obviously not a starter but I like the potential. He’s a good defender off the bench. This trade only means that Young is not back, which hurts because he raked against lefties.
I don’t want Gardner to be traded but it’s interesting to think about what kind of package he’d get. I’d rather see Ellsbury go but that has a slim chance of happening at this point.
Pretty good trade considering JRM was blocked by McCann for quite a bit longer and Gary Sanchez is coming up soon. Hicks use to be a stud prospect who has a little bit of pop for a decent centerfielder.
It’s really a very good move for both players, and a solid if not great move for both teams. Hicks was eventually going to get squeezed out of the picture in Minnesota; with the Yankees, at worst he plays a lot as a #4 OF, and most likely he does better than that. Murphy gets a chance to finally get some quality playing time. Neither one is a sure fire solution, but both are good additions where they went, and at a reasonable cost.
I don’t really feel one way or another about this trade since I don’t know anything about Murphy. My assumption is that he’ll be much better than Suzuki, but that’s not all that hard to do. Twins desperately need a catcher, so I like that part of it.
As far as Hicks goes, he’s all “will he ever figure it out?” Right now I’d call him a 4th OF because besides a monster July..he was pretty blah. His defense is good most of the time, but he still takes really weird routes and misses balls he shouldn’t. Maybe he’ll figure it out more consistently offensively and defensively, but so far he hasn’t.
Trade gardy and ruff for cano. And eat a big piece of cano contract. Cano back in ny he will do what he did wen he was with us.
This was a great trade for the Twins because they obtained a good catcher who has a lot potential of becoming even better.That trades was good for both teams.
Mantle
DiMaggio
Murcer
Bernie
Hicks
So many great Yankee CF’s.
Crafty Cashman I love it
I think the cubs try to make a package for Gardner
3 years l8r look how this turned out…