Yankees Aaron Hicks says he’s ready to return; who’s odd man out?

Does Aaron Hicks deserve to start?

The guess here is that Hicks would be used for defensive and base running purposes. He’s flashed significant power and offensive potential at times, but the odds are good that he’d be rusty after missing so much time. It’d be risky to start him and expect to see the same Aaron Hicks from 2018.

That being said, Hicks’ defense has always been elite. The Yankees might be tempted to give him a spot on the roster purely for late-inning purposes, where the Yanks can shift Brett Gardner to left field and put Hicks in center.

If this becomes a reality, who will be deactivated in his stead? In the ALDS, the Yankees went with 12 pitchers and 13 position players. Included among the 13 position players was a four-man bench consisting of Austin Romine, Luke Voit, Tyler Wade and Cameron Maybin.

If Hicks is activated, I can’t see the Yankees going with 13 pitchers and a three-man bench. If they did, Voit and Maybin would likely lose their spots. Wade needs to stay as a backup infield option, Hicks would be the backup outfielder and Romine is obviously the backup catcher.

The guess here is that the Yankees stay with 12 pitchers. If C.C. Sabathia is healthy, I believe that he will make the roster at the expense of Jonathan Loaisiga or Tyler Lyons. However, that means one member of the ALDS bench will lose their place in the ALCS. Who will it be?