12:34pm: The Yankees have announced the move, and confirmed they’ve added Greg Allen to the active roster in his place.
12:27pm: The Yankees have designated veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks for assignment, reports Greg Joyce of the New York Post. While the Yankees are yet to make the move official, it’ll likely make room for the team to activate outfielder Greg Allen, who they acquired from the Red Sox last night.
It’ll be a costly move for the Yankees, with Hicks still owed $19.57MM by way of $9.8MM salaries in 2024-25, and a $1MM buyout on a $12.5MM club option for 2026. He’ll also be owed the remainder of his $10.8MM salary in 2023. Hicks will now be exposed to waivers, but his struggles this year and the remaining money owed make it a near certainty he goes unclaimed. Instead, the Yankees could offer to eat the remainder of his contract and try and trade him to another team, or he could be released once he clears waivers.
It’s been a challenging start to the season for Hicks, who’s slashed just .188/.263/.261 with a single home run in 76 plate appearances. He’d fallen down the pecking order in New York, with the team often favoring infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa for starts in the outfield over him. He’s also walking at the rate at his worst rate since 2016, striking out more and defensive metrics haven’t looked favorably on his work in left field this season.
Hicks, 33, was a 14th overall pick by the Twins back in 2008. He was a consensus top-100 prospect coming through the minors in Minnesota’s organization, and made his debut as a 23-year-old in 2013. He struggled that year, and would never really get going over the next three seasons with the Twins, slashing .225/.306/.349 over 247 games between 2013-15. By 2015, the Twins were ready to move on and flipped him to New York in a deal for catcher John Ryan Murphy.
While his struggles continued in his first season in the Bronx, Hicks found his groove in 2017, slashing .266/.372/.475 with 15 home runs over 361 plate appearances. Injuries restricted him to just 88 games that year, but he again impressed in 137 games in 2018, posting a .248/.366/.467 line with 27 home runs and doing enough to earn some down-ballot AL MVP votes.
Hicks’ blend of power, walks and lack of strikeouts, not to mention his solid glove in center field was enough for the Yankees to hand Hicks a seven-year, $70MM extension prior to the 2019 season, preventing him from reaching free agency the following winter. While at the time that looked like a solid rate for a player who’d just come off a 4.3 fWAR season, Hicks’ play deteriorated over the course of the deal.
In the four seasons between 2019-22, he’d be worth just 3.1 fWAR. A lot of that was down to injuries, as Hicks missed time in 2019 to back and flexor strains and appeared in just 59 games, while a 2021 wrist injury saw him appear in just 32 games that year. He did return fit in 2022, playing 130 games, but he hit just eight home runs as he struggled to find his power following wrist surgery. While he continued to walk at a decent clip, his declining power saw him hit just .216/.330/.313, while he also lost the center field job.
He did still contribute 1.4 fWAR in 2022, largely thanks to his walks and improved defense after being moved to left field. Nonetheless, the Yankees entered the past off-season with a bit of speculation over Hicks’ future. The optimistic view was that another year removed from wrist surgery would be enough for Hicks to regain his power and become a positive contributor to the lineup, while the pessimistic view was that Hicks’ declining play and advancing age meant his best years were permanently in the rearview mirror.
Now, after struggling over the first few months of the season, he’ll be made available to the rest of the league. It’s possible that a change of scenery is what’s needed for Hicks, who has been the target of plenty of criticism from Yankees fans in recent years.
Presuming he clears waivers, Hicks will be a cheap addition for any team as the Yankees are still on the hook for the remainder of his contract. In Hicks’ defense, he had started to hit a little better in recent times, putting up a .286/.375/.524 line over his last 24 plate appearances. He had also hit lefties at a .278/.381/.333 rate, and while both those lines are pulled from very small sample sizes he could make sense for a team wanting a cheap platoon bat.
Image credit: USA Today Sports
It was about time. He’s done for.
Hey what took so long???
Cashbum didn’t have the testicles to own up to one of his many mistakes.
I think any true Yankees fan would offer him a free ride to the airport at this point.
Steinbrenner had to search his pocket for the loose change.
Maybe Hicks and Hosmer can catch a movie together.
Good idea Manny, maybe Bumgarner can chaperone (to ward off ugly rumors)
Grumpy Old Men?
Maybe, let’s hope it’s not deep throat…to be honest, they have all choked this season…
It’s not that it is a bad move, per se, just seems odd that Greg Allen, of all people, was the tipping point.
I thought they’d wait until someone like Stanton gets healthy again.
That sentence is an oxymoron.
The worst regular player in MLB. This was 2 years overdue.
Stanton (heh heh heh)… healthy (heh heh heh)
Exactly.
My thoughts exactly. Allen has always been a classic AAAA player who might give you a .225 BA overall. He’s an excellent fielder, and he’s solid on the bases. Just never gonna make an impact at the plate.
I was thinking the same thing. What will it take to DFA Josh Donaldson?
I heard there will be a eulogy for Aaron Hicks at Yankee Stadium today? Is anyone out there attending?
FINALLY
Addition by subtraction.
Long overdue move
Might want to turn off the comments now.
Why get rid of the best player in baseball??
Because Ohtani is on the way here lol.
“Ohtani is on the way here”?
Are you standing in Dodger stadium?
I’m here to watch my Yankee fan chat buddies celebrate. Congrats, guys
It’ll just be twice the vitriol coming Boone’s way now.
I love Boonie. He may give himself a heart attack soon, though. His intensity level is at a 9.5 all the time lately. Somebody needs to get the guy an infused joint and day spa
I’d suggest a pink slip instead. Girardi got fired, because he’s NOT a “yes” man and Boone got hired because he IS.
mlb fan you’re not a fan? I don’t watch enough Yankees to have an educated opinion on the job he’s doing. I was a huge Bret fan as a kid and I remember the walkoff Homer in the ‘03 ALCS like it was yesterday.
I look at the active roster they have today…man, tough to imagine any skipper doing well in the Bronx right now.
That’s quite true. And you’re right he also got fired because he was too tough on their golden player at the time, Sanchez. And look at Sanchez now, he couldn’t even get a gig in major leagues until the Mets pick him up as a last resort
Yankees need a nice calming influence on the bench to help. Brett Gardner comes to mind.
I loved the idea of Joe Girardi managing the Phillies, but came to hate the actuality of it.
calming?
The goat is gone
The goat is gone. Sad
Hicks is this year’s Gallo.
Better late than never!!!
Spell my name correctly, troll!
So the yankees showcased him in the last 2 series in order to try to recoup something via a trade before release him…good move!
Yessss!!! Some team will place Hicks on their 26-man roster after he clears waivers.
He’ll go to the A’s or Rays where he’ll hit .275 with 20+ HRs and 65 RBI the rest of the way.
One can actually hope.
Probably the Mets, they seem to like Yankees castoffs these days
Certainly possible, but I think he’d be better off playing with a small market team
I’d say the Long Island Ducks.
He is a good golfer.
Hey well so is his pretty wife.
And just after he had a 3-4 game.
Hicks has made $55M in his career…. Nice going there.
And the Yanks still owe him $20M more.
Somebody might grab him on MLB minimum and platoon him since he is still hitting lefties.
There were conversations suggesting Hicks should abandon hitting from the left side many years ago. Maybe he can eek out a couple more years if he commits to picking up a step.
Honestly, he looks cooked right now.
So….Hicks, IKF, and Brito for Ohtani isn’t happening?
I’ll hang up and listen.
Guess we will just have to incluce Donaldson instead
Always thought the hate for Hicks was a bit overblown. He certainly had some injury issues and underperformed his contract but Yankees fans would have you believe he was putting up “Chris Davis” type of bad numbers.
I agree, but this year he was pretty much that bad. In the past he was fine, at times pretty good.
My issue with Hicks is he could be lazy in the outfield. Despite his speed and arm strength, teams would run on him because they knew he tended to jog after balls in the gap. He’s also been historically bad in clutch situations, especially with the bases loaded.
I supported Hicks for a long time but having him now on the roster is a waste of resources. He’s unreliable and isn’t clutch in big moments off the bench. He’s not far off Chris Davis-numbers this year. The only positive was that he saw a lot of pitches. However, pitches are no longer afraid to challenge him. Him complaining multiple times about not knowing his role and asking for a trade was my final straw.
The last straw for me was his lazy play in the outfield. I thought he wouldn’t be a bad fourth outfielder to have because he had been a good defender. But jogging to balls in the gap and dropping routine flys was too much.
This should have been done 3 – 4 years ago. On second thought, giving him a 7-year deal was foolish to begin with. Ellsbury, Hicks, and now I bet they’ll trade for Buxton and then sign him for the next 10 years. Cashman deserves a promotion (said every Boston fan)
hold up. the Twins already signed him. he’s our burden. LOL
Hopefully this is the first of other moves to be made, that will help the team, like a real leftfielder.
Would love to see a real left fielder but I think this means either Bauers or Calhoun settles in there and Allen serves as the late inning defensive replacement.
He would be perfect fit for the Blue Jays. They could play him once or twice a week and use him off the bench (pinch hit) and he won’t kill you on the base paths and if memory is correct he hits well in Skydome.
Once he is released that is….they ain’t paying him anything above min.
They won’t have to pay him anything beyond minimum. They’d just have to give the Yankees a low level prospect (aka, PTBNL) to get him before he clears waivers.
That’s not correct he is on waivers right now due to the DFA so his full contract goes to the team who claims him unless the Yankees workout a deal to pay his full salary.. He won’t be league minimum until he clears waivers and rejects assignment OR the Yankees outright release him.
No one is going to claim him.
@Darthyen
Yep, he’s decent with the bat against lefties and average-ish in the OF corners and would be making the same as Lukes.
That also would allow Lukes to go back down and continue to develop instead of wasting on the bench.
@Darthyen
Lukes is a 28yr old career minor leaguer. There’s nothing to develop. He could very well be push off the 40 man if the Jays add an OF.
@NoSaint I know and agree he could get bumped OR he could be like so many late developers and become a Bautista…not saying he will but just as an example.
Should have been aaron Boone instead
Yes.
Somewhat odd timing as Hicks had just started seeing some productive at bats.
It’s too bad to see his chapter in the Bronx close like this. But they do need more production from LF and the heart of the order behind Judge & Rizzo if they want to be a championship team.
We all know this, except the Yankees Management apparently. They should’ve made moves in the off-season
Who should they have gotten? Re-sign Benetendi? The hope was that Cabrera would stake his claim to LF and be the solution. Unfortunately, while Oswaldo seems to look great with the glove wherever the Yankees put him, he has not yet hit the ball consistently.
Patience is needed.
Yankees fans everywhere throwing celebrations. I can’t wait to see how Jomboy Media reacts to this.
One of the few good moves Cashman has made in his tenure
I always thought keeping him on the roster because he makes $10 million was silly. Who cares! The Yankees should be paying their fourth outfielder $10 million per season. He was essentially making Brandon Belt money! If Yankee fans want to be upset about a “bad contract”, then let’s talk about the $50 million paid out to Donaldson for the past two seasons. That is five seasons of Aaron Hicks. Donaldson should be the next one to be DFA. Who cares about the money? The roster spot is more valuable.
Hicks go to tampa Bay they will make u a better hitter they always do.they take no name player & make them Super star
Wow.
I get your point, but I don’t even think Tampa could help Mr. Hicks
I think he will be Korea or Japan bound if he still wants to play. Personally I would take the 25-30 Million and ride off into the sunset.
Can he sign a contract in another league and still get paid by the Yanks through the end of his MLB contract?
Yes, Trevor Bauer is a good example.
Unless the Rays move an OF, there’s no room for him. Margot maybe as he’s paid Hicks money.
Although true, not in this case
Another horrible player acquisition by Cashman has come to pass. Another one. So many of them. Yankees should DFA Cashman.
Ok maybe the Yankees gave up almost nothing for him. Bottom line is he had in my opinion 1 good year for them. Cost them a ton of money. Overall a waste of resources. Looking at the big picture he never gave the results the Yankees were after. It might have seemed like a good acquisition at the time but not many people look at it like that.
I never thought I’d see the day. So glad I never have to see this clown in pinstripes again
He was pretty great 2017-2020. 120 OPS+, 10 WAR. A steal for John Ryan Murphy. What happened? Injuries?
The only thing he was really ever good at was taking walks . That inflated all of his analytics. Now he can’t even do that
I remember about 2 years ago the beat writers had hicks as a top 10 centerfielder in all of the majors. Morons
Great example of groupthink. Put a bunch of homers in a room together, and they can convince themselves of just about anything.
Quite true. The baseball writers are the last to adjust to changing times. They probably still think that batting average is a thing
He was before his TJS and wrist sheath surgery.
That’s true… Yankee sucking wtiters
That’s true… Yankee sucking writers
I am crestfallen. I loved him dropping fly balls and striking out on balls in the dirt. You will be missed by the Red Sox
Haha. Yup.
He had to sign a massive cheating nondisclosure agreement before they would designate him?
What is the allegation of cheating? The point of cheating is to win a World Series you know like the Astros. If they are cheating, then why aren’t they winning?? Are you telling me the Yankees cheated in 2009??? If you are talking about Domestic German give me a break cry baby.
whyhayzee is a pathetic excuse for a “human being.” He’s been doing this since he was 8 and now he’s like seventy. He’s a jogger, and I can just picture him jogging down the road, shaking his head, muttering about the Yankees. Pathetic.
Why? Greg Allen can’t hit, either.
Yeah, but no one is expecting him to.
Haha. nobody was expecting Hicks to either, that’s why most wanted him gone
No. It was because he couldn’t hit and also couldn’t field or run. Did you see Allen on that triple yesterday? Dude can fly!
About time the whiny overrated overpaid bum is gone.
But everyone said they wouldn’t cut him?
The trade for Allen was the sign he was being cut. They wanted a defensive-minded player for the bench.
He was pressing, but he also hasn’t been the same since TJS. Maybe he can regain some form elsewhere. He’ll get another chance.
Good luck to him. But either way he’s set for life so I’m shedding no tears for him. Ball players themselves are usually the last to know or accept the fact that they’re done. Da Nile is not just a River in Egypt.
I’m may catch some flak for saying this. Hicks was the only African-American on their 26-man roster and they found another to replace him. Greg Allen will not be going anywhere for a while. Higgy and Volpe are both half-Asian.
Greg Allen?! The Yankees really are desperate. I assume they called Ellsbury? My understanding is that he is very, very available.
What will it take for Florial to finally get a real chance?!
A miracle
striking out in less than 35% of his minor league at-bats
Wow they finally figured out to part ways with Hicks. Could have told them that five years ago
They actually gave Hicks 7 years 70 million three years ago
“three years ago”
2019 was 5 years ago. They only owe him 2 more years.
It was inevitable. Terrible contract. Even at the time when there were some “peripheral stats” justifying it, where Hicks’ WAR was insanely high for his production levels. Cashman was taking a 4 year deal and stretching it to 6 years to keep the luxury tax hit down (he also had one more year of arbitration on it so it was 6 years/$63M w/ $1M plus the last year of arbitration for $6M) when Cashman determined Hicks could’ve received like $7.5M in arbitration and Cashman thought Hicks could be headed for a 4 year/$62M free agency contract.
And you know what? Cashman should’ve lpsud him the extra $1M in arbitration and the. et him walk and go get that 4 year contract or signed him to that 4 year contract- the luxury tax savings weren’t worth it.
*should have given Hicks the extra $1.5M in arbitration and then let him walk etc
Good good riddance to Hicks. Long overdue. I’m actually surprised that the Yankees had the stones to do it and eat the rest of his money. But you’re right they extend these contracts to lower the salary cap hit, and then forget that they’re getting the player on the cheap or even free for the last couple of years because they could’ve paid him more money for a shorter term anyway.
But you know you’re in trouble win infielders are being put in the outfield ahead of you.
I’m still waking up so I’m feeling too tired and lazy to look all of this up, but I think that if they were valuing Hicks at $15.75M per season on the open market and they got him for $10.5M AAV instead (with that insanely complicated annual salary structure of like $10,785,714 per season dropped down to $9,785,714 etc.) the money they have had to wind up eating has to be more sunk cost to them than whatever the luxury tax hits would have been on a $15-$16M per season salary over 2 fewer years- which, assuming the $10M AAV kept them under the luxury tax, it would have been 20% on $5.75M so an extra $1.15M per season, so a 5 year/$70M deal would have cost them $74.6M total, but then they’d be out from under the contract.
Heck if Cashman was that high on Hicks, why didn’t he give him 1 year/$9M in arbitration and then 3 years/$60M w/ a $1M buyout on a $15M option or something? They would have declined the option and been done with the contract by the end of 2021 and actually saved a bit of money off the pro-rated 2020 season and it would have cost virtually the same amount-
So yeah: Better to pay the luxury tax for the years he’d have actually played for them or having to pay out the $30M remaining on the deal for him to not play for them over the next 3 years?
OR…. why not do what the Nationals and the Dodgers, etc. do and defer the excess salary? Give Hicks 5 years/$70M, pay him $6M followed by $9M a season for 4 years and then like $2.8M a year for the next 10 years to not play for the team? Has to be better than $10M a year for 3 years to not play for the team.
Either way,
When they signed Hicks to the 7 year contract they didn’t know that he would be injured for a lot of it and that he wouldn’t recover to play decent baseball post injuries. Hindsight is always 20/20. At the time, the way Hicks was playing that contract was a steal for The Yankees, however as luck would have it, they now get robbed.
Right- at the time, Hicks was quietly producing as much or more WAR per games played or per plate appearances, etc. than anybody else in baseball- but the big asterisks to that was that he was doing so in a platoon role. He wasn’t producing that as a starting player who had to go out there virtually every game for most of the game.
He was one of those players who’s ability to work walks and his ability to get clutch hits for most of his hits greatly inflated his WAR per AB or per games played numbers- but it belied the fact that that’s exactly what he was- a very good under the radar bench player who was not reliable in a full time capacity.
Once they signed him to that deal, they felt like they had to treat him like a top of the roster every day player and that’s partly what ruined the contract. A player prone to injuries playing more caused more wear and tear on his body and so a guy who was giving you 4 WAR over 80 games was not in fact going to give you 8 WAR over 160 games- he was going to fall apart and not be able to produce 4 WAR over any total of games played because now he was injured.
And to think, a Braves beat writer wrote an article wholeheartedly suggesting the Braves should trade for this cat as an upgrade in lf both defensively and offensively… what a joke
2-3 years too late. This really should be a union issue going forward. Hicks’ money is guaranteed whether he played or not and he was eating up an opportunity that someone else could have had. When AAA journeymen run circles around you in every aspect of the game it is embarrassing that he was still taking up a spot on the 40 man.
Cashman is a joke. Zieg is a joke. This team is not at all close to the right direction.
Why is it a union issue? The Yankees took a contract risk and failed. End of story.
Clear out your locker, Hicks.
And scram.
Just for a reality check, the Yankees gave Hicks a seven-year deal to lower his AAV. I’m sure they figured the last few years of his deal he could move into a 4th OFer role. He completely collapsed, hence his DFA. That said, one season he had the second highest rWAR of any CFer in the AL, and he posted four straight years with OPS+’s of 122, 127, 103 and 122. His main issue was injuries, not a lack of talent.
Hicks was a find when they Yankees traded for him, but the extension has turned out to be a disaster. He’s just not any good. Someone will pick him up, and maybe someone will get something out of him, but he’s worse than Hosmer…
This is like 3 years overdue. Finally.
If Hicks was getting paid per game, he would be batting .290 with 12 homeruns right now. Thats what happens when you give a big contract to a known bum across the league. Honestly, hes really doing nothing different as comparable to other years, he always takes a 60-80 game vacation throughout every season, just in time for the playoffs. His vacation is now just extended. Aaron Hicks is the happiest guy in the world right now. He can go home and count his money while watching TV and eating potato chips in his mansion
He just needs to look into the dugout more.
Good on Cashman to bite the bullet and move on from Hicks. Hicks was given a very long leash, given every shot to perform, he just couldn’t do it.
Would the Yankees consider adding a prospect like Jasson Dominguez to a deal to shed that $30 mil in salary?
No. They aren’t Oakland. They don’t care about money like that.
It really isn’t Hicks’ fault that Boone kept putting his name on the line-up card. This is Cashman helping Boone manage…no more Aaron Hicks you freaking braying donkey wearing a baseball hat!!
Heard the collective cheer from Yankees fans everywhere across the continent.
I’m getting plow-faced as we shpeak.
No you’re not.
He seems like the type of trash the pirates would love. They have an open spot on the 40 too.
Wow!? Never thought they’d eat this contract. Maybe it’s a sign Cashman is starting to wise up?? Wishful thinking
Christmas came early to the Bronx this year
our long national nightmare is over
You Yankees fans will regret this .
The Hicks Hex will haunt you all for decades!
We’ll take it!!!
Is IKF next? Maybe Donaldson?
Now do Donaldson.
That’s Arson!
Overpriced, underperforming player well into his thirties? AJ Preller is probably asking Seidler for a budget increase RIGHT NOW!!!
He should have listened to the advise and changed his bat to a longer one like the one Braun used.
He has always been the same player not good at all. Better than me though
Don’t be so hard on yourself boss you’re probably just a few years of hard work steroids and jesus away from being in the same universe
No way!!!!!
Twins pick him up out of spite, claim they have now fleeced the yankees!
We all look forward to his “YANKEEOGRAPHY”
I’ve not followed Hicks at all but his big year was .266/.372/.475? Reminds me of all the past misplaced hype over Upton. This looks like a good decision for the Yanks.
Aaron Hicks and his Hot Licks!
Hicks needs to be a member of the PGA Tour or if he wants even more money than he would get from them, the LIV Golf Tour , but it will come at the expense of not getting world golf ranking points..
BYE BYE BISH 🙂
The long nightmare is over
I Hope he gets another chance, a change of scenery could help.
Never really took that next step. Yankees held on to him too long. It’s all about the money and Cashman not willing to show he made a bad decision signing him to a long term contract. At 33 it’s not like he will all the sudden improve.
“It’ll be a costly move for the Yankees, with Hicks still owed $19.57MM…”
—It will cost them almost nothing, given they’ll have to pay Hicks regardless of whether he’s playing in the Bronx or sitting on the couch in retirement.
How can a baseball writer not understand sunk costs?