Yankees Release Hicks; Boone Says He “Did some really good things here”

 

The Yankees open a three-game set on Friday night with the San Diego Padres, seen here taking batting practice. Photo by Jason Schott.

On Friday afternoon, the Yankees announced that they have released outfielder Aaron Hicks.

This season, Hicks was hitting .188 with one home run and five RBI in 28 games, and he was designated for assignment last Saturday.

After arriving in a trade with the Minnesota Twins in November 2015, Hicks began playing for the Yankees the following season. His best performances in The Bronx were in 2017, when he hit .266 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI, followed by 27 home runs and 79 RBI, while hitting .248, in ‘18.

Those seasons prompted the Yankees to sign him to a seven-year, $70 million deal ahead of the 2019 season, and there is still two-plus years left on that the Yankees will likely have to cover.

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone was asked if there was a possibility Hicks could have gone to the minors after he was DFA’d, and his final thoughts on Hicks’ tenure with the Yankees, and he said, “I don’t think so. I think it was going to be something would happen (likely referring to a trade) or the result today of the outright release.

“I hope what doesn’t get lost is a couple of really good seasons that he had here, had some good postseason moments here, and then some injuries, you know, really, you know, impacted his time here, probably impacted his career and his ability to get back to that level. You know, Tommy John (surgery), wrist, you know, just different things that would pop up with him that, I think, you know, had an adverse effect, but hopefully, as time - you get time removed - understand that he had some really good seasons here and did some really good things.”