Born in California, LA, outfielder Aaron Hicks was picked up in the 2008 MLB draft by Minnesota Twins. Hicks was in high school at the moment, where he was widely known as the star baseball player. He played two seasons with the Twins, which did not yield impressive results. Hence, the outfielder made a move to New York in 2015 to join the mighty Yankees.
The Twins traded Aaron Hicks to the Yankees in exchange for John Ryan Murphy. After struggling for a couple of seasons, Hicks had a breakout year in 2018, wherein he scored his career-high 27 home runs and 79 RBIs. Further, owing to his athleticism, the Yankees awarded the outfielder a seven-year contract worth $70 million with a $12.5 million option for 2026, a $1 million buyout, and a $2 million worth signing bonus. However, things went haywire shortly after.
Yankees Release Aaron Hicks A Week After Designating Him For Assignment
Aaron Hicks suffered from an unfortunate downfall shortly after signing a seven-year extension contract. In the past three seasons, Hicks has been unable to score more than 10 home runs in a single season. Moreover, his offensive woes took a toll on his overall performance as the outfielder messed up routine plays. Slowly Aaron started becoming a burden, but the Yankees could not cut him off due to his high contract value. However, in 2023, the Bronx Bombers realized that enough was enough. So far, the outfielder could only score .188 with one home run and five RBI. As a result, the team pulled the plug on the veteran.
Last week, New York Yankees designated Aaron Hicks for assignment, which gave him seven additional days to finish up the paperwork and pack things up. Now, after seven days, the Yankees officially released the outfielder from the 40-man roster. The team made the announcement prior to the opening game against the San Diego Padres on Friday. Hicks is now a free agent and can join any team without any restriction. On the other hand, the Yankee fandom breathed a sigh of relief as Hicks’s painful seven-year association with the franchise came to an end at the right time.
Yankees Still Owe Hicks $20 Million
While the New York Yankees made the much-needed decision to cut Aaron Hicks off, the trouble will still linger for a while. Hicks still had 2.5 seasons left on his existing contract when he was let go by the Bombers. Moreover, the outfielder earned over $10 million each season. Hence, the Yankees will have to pay him his remaining contract value, which is $20 million after the current season, and also the remaining salary for the ongoing 2023 season.
Regardless, the Yankees will be happy with their decision. Dragging the veteran just for the sake of money did not make much sense. He was also eating up a space of a much deserving young candidate. For now, the team has signed Greg Allen from Boston Red Sox to fill up the outfielder’s space in the roster. It would be interesting to see if Aaron Hicks can still bag a good contract elsewhere.
