Yankees acquire Aaron Hicks from Twins for John Ryan Murphy
proved as much Wednesday, acquiring outfielder Aaron Hicks from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy.
The offseason just started, but it looks like the New York Yankees might be one of the more active teams this winter. TheyThe move is intriguing for New York for a number of reasons. Hicks, 26, is a former top prospect who finally starting showing signs of promise in the majors last season. He made Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list four times, topping out at No. 19 in 2010.
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Despite that, Hicks hasn’t produced in the majors just yet. The outfielder owns a career .225/.306/.398 slash line over 390 plate appearances. That said, Hicks started to show some signs of life after a demotion last season. Once he returned to the majors in early July, Hicks hit .259/.333/.432 over 291 plate appearances. That’s a small sample, but it provides some hope that Hicks can still capitalize on his former prospect status.
His second half slash line might seem underwhelming, but centerfielders hit just .263/.326/.408 last year according to FanGraphs. If Hicks can do that, and play average defense, he’ll turn out to be a fairly solid player. He’s probably not a future standout, but he should add value.
That is, if the Yankees decide to give him playing time. With the trade, the team currently has Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran and Hicks in the outfield. Given what he’s done in the majors thus far, Hicks would make a strong fourth outfielder, but general manager Brian Cashman has already admitted they view Hicks as an everyday player. That would mean someone else is likely to get traded before the start of next season.
According to the New York Post, Brett Gardner seems like the most likely candidate to go. He’s already reportedly on the trading block, and this move makes it easier for Cashman to move the 32-year-old. Gardner hit .259/.343/.399 over 656 plate appearances last year, which was fairly similar to Hicks’ line. Gardner is older and more expensive than Hicks, so it’s easy to see why Cashman would want to make that swap.
That, combined with the fact that the Yankees made another trade Wednesday, picking up 20-year-old reliever Ronald Herrera, indicates New York is going to be fairly active this winter.
For Minnesota, the move indicates that Kurt Suzuki’s time as the team’s main catcher might be coming to an end. Murphy was considered one of the better prospects in the Yankees system a few years ago, but he hasn’t produced much in the majors. The 24-year-old owns a .267/.311/.374 slash line over 284 plate appearances. Still, he’s relatively young, and has some promise at the plate, and that makes him a more exciting option than Suzuki.
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The 32-year-old Suzuki somehow made the All-Star team in 2014, but regressed in 2015, hitting .240/.296/.314. He was among the worst catchers in the game last year, compiling a -0.1 WAR. Suzuki will likely still see the majority of the work behind the plate, but Murphy could eat into his playing time.
The trade also indicates the team’s commitment to moving Miguel Sano to the outfield, and shows faith in Byron Buxton as a full-time starter next year. Both of those players have significantly more upside than Hicks, so they were comfortable parting with him despite a strong second half.
Overall, the move isn’t that exciting for either club. The Twins get a possible catcher of the future, though Murphy will more likely be a solid backup. The Yankees get a possible everyday centerfielder who probably isn’t a future star, but is good enough.
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For New York, though, the move signifies that something bigger might be coming. The Yankees have undergone quite a massive change in recent seasons. The big free-agent deals of the past have been scarce lately, with the team preferring to bring in young, cost-controlled player. With the Hicks deal, it’s starting to look like another young overhaul might be the focus once again in New York.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik