3 DFAs Yankees need to make to salvage World Series hopes

2. Aaron Hicks

The only reason Aaron Hicks isn’t No. 1 is because he’s still owed a chunk of money that the Yankees are going to refuse to part with. The richest organization in baseball can’t stomach throwing a few million into the garbage, but they’ll ensure their viewers have to fight to get access to the YES Network, a television station they own and profit from. There’s no problem charging folks $16 for beer and $24 for a chicken bucket with fries, either. Alright, I’m being harsh. You get to keep the bucket!

Anyway, Hicks is among the literal worst players in Major League Baseball, and there’s no reason to believe he’s going to turn it around. For one, he underwent Tommy John surgery and wrist sheath surgery within two seasons of one another, which has undoubtedly affected his play. But more importantly, Hicks has no track record of sustained success. Health issues have kept him off the field for most of his career (especially before arriving in New York), and his singular full, all-around impression season was immediately rewarded with a seven-year, $70 million extension.

Another management fail, and partial indictment on Hicks. He’s lackadaisical/bad in the field and hasn’t changed a single aspect of his approach at the plate to improve his near-league-worst efforts in recent years. He’s killing the roster. He’s not an adequate bench player, either, and just lost his job to underwhelming prospect Estevan Florial. So why is he here? Eat the ~$35 million and call it a loss — something this front office is often too proud to do. They’ll never own up to a mistake, and they’d rather watch it unfold in the most heinous and detrimental way possible before they even dream of getting ahead of the problem.