With Aaron Hicks Struggling…Could He Be the Next MLBbro Released?

With Aaron Hicks Struggling…Could He Be the Next MLBbro Released?

 

It took less than a month into the season before shockwaves were sent throughout the baseball world when it was reported by MLB.com that the Arizona Diamondbacks designated pitcher, Madison Bumgarner for assignment after only four starts. Even though “Mad-Bum” is no longer with the team, it doesn’t mean that his checks to the tune of $34 million won’t stop for the next two years from a five year, $85 million deal .

 

The narrative of this situation would go…” That’s a ton of money to throw out the door just to get rid of a player.” But it only takes one scenario to change the rules of business for sports franchises in copycat leagues. Major League Baseball is no different.

 

Now what does the Madison Bumgarner situation have to do with MLBbro.com you ask?

 

Now that Bumgarner has been released, the rocky Aaron Hicks/New York Yankees relationship could come to an end the same way. Much like Bumgarner, Hicks is struggling big time to start the season with only his past accomplishments holding him up at this point. His 2017-19 stretch with the Yanks must see entertainment on the baseball diamond…

 

 

But the steady decline bottomed out last season in a 30-game stretch that might have ended our MLBbro’s tenure in New York if the team wasn’t so focused on Aaron Judge’s dominance on the field and tenuous negotiations off it. A 2022 campaign filled with optimism, fell short with Hicks producing eight-homers, 40 RBI, 109 strikeouts with a .216 batting average in 384 at bats. The down season soured his relationship with the fans, which Hicks compounded with eroding play in the outfield. His spotty performance on Derek Jeter Hall of Fame Night made him an afterthought for the rest of the season.

 

The frustrations also began to bubble within Hicks. It started with him being left out of the starting lineup for the first three games of last season. He went to management over his role.

 

 

 

 

His words to the New York Post after the trade deadline last year after the team brought in Harrison Bader from the St. Louis Cardinals tells a story that even then his future with the team was uncertain.

 

“I don’t know. The Yankees are gonna have to make a decision and I’ll wait for whatever happens. It’s not really my call.”

 

“As of right now I feel the more I play, the better I’m gonna play. That’s not what’s going on right now. Things are tough in New York. I don’t have an answer. If they feel this isn’t the right fit for me, that’s their call. If I do go to another team, I know I can help them win.”