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3 possible trade destinations for Aaron Hicks as Yankees 'frustration' builds

By Adam Weinrib |
Philadelphia Phillies v New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies v New York Yankees / Sarah Stier/GettyImages
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It's a damn shame that Aaron Hicks' Yankees career has reached this point, after the indelible highlights he provided from 2017-2019, but ... it has. It's here. It's close to the point of no return, and Hicks has shown little desire to be the player he used to be, aside from some pointed remarks based on the assumption that his talent and effort never left.

After being left out of the starting lineup for the first three games of the Yankees' regular season, Hicks expressed some frustration to management, according to Aaron Boone's press conference prior to Monday's game. Boone responded by relenting and starting Hicks against the Phillies, but that's neither here nor there.

The 33-year-old Hicks has three years left on his Yankees extension at $10M a piece, and while booing him during Opening Day intros still feels uncouth, he has done plenty in recent years to justify fan dissatisfaction. It's hard to rebut accusations that he's "dogging it" when the most lasting image of his 2022 season wasn't the clutch, three-run home run he hit against Houston, but rather the time he got bonked by a fair ball and opted not to chase it.

If the Yankees' marriage with Hicks is over -- yes, with a sunken cost attached -- these three teams could help them move on. Don't expect much in return other than a lottery ticket prospect or a salary match, though, unless the Yankees eat the entirety of his remaining contract (they won't).

3 trade destinations for Yankees OF Aaron Hicks

Aaron Hicks Trade Destination: Cincinnati Reds

A step down? Of course! But if Hicks is so desperate to start, or at least join a team where there's more clarity about what he's there to do, the Cincinnati Reds feel like a perfect fit -- as long as the Yankees agree to pay 80% of his salary.

Right now, Cincinnati's outfield depth chart looks like a bench that was recently magically transformed into three starters; if Hicks doesn't have the juice to beat out Jake Fraley, Stuart Fairchild, and TJ Friedl for reps, than he will not be a starter on any team in the league for the remainder of his career.

(And, we just said the quiet part out loud: there's a good chance he isn't a full-time starter anywhere)

Still, if the Yankees pay almost all of Hicks' money, maybe they can convince the Reds to surrender Rookie Ball shortstop (and MLB Pipeline's No. 25 prospect in Cincinnati's farm) Leonardo Balcazar. Come on, cheapo Reds ownership. You've already got Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte and Matt McLain. Throw the Yankees a lottery ticket bone here.

Aaron Hicks Trade Destination: San Francisco Giants

Yes, San Francisco, you can have Aaron, the outfielder from the New York Yankees!

If there's a team out there that might be able to turn Hicks back into a semi-productive rotational outfielder, it could be the Giants, though he's got to beware of AT&T Park's large gaps.

As Yankee fans saw over the weekend, the Giants' entire ethos revolves around aggression, taking chances, and grabbing opportunities that appear at the margins. They aren't going to out-slug the Padres and Dodgers. Therefore, they have to play clean baseball. They have to bunt. And they have to hit on a few big swings.

Don't, uh, show the Giants Hicks' defensive highlight reel from last season, but with Mitch Haniger an injury question mark and Michael Conforto always threatening to become one, the team that won 107 games in 2021 by turning LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski into contributors might be willing to roll the dice with Hicks as a fourth outfielder (and, again, will probably only be interested if the Yankees take on ~75% of the contract).

Will the Yankees be willing to Steve Cohen this problem to make it go away? If so, Gabe Kapler could certainly get some of the remaining value out of Hicks. Certainly, the Giants are still searching in the outfield, picking up former Dodger Matt Beaty minutes before Opening Day. An unsettled outfield picture somewhere, anywhere is Hicks' best-case scenario right about now.

Aaron Hicks Trade Destination: Miami Marlins

This is, probably, the dream for Hicks. A life in Miami. Tee time at Doral. A genuine chance to steal outfield reps from the likes of Jesús Sánchez and Bryan De La Cruz, among other Quad-A players the Marlins are trying to slot into their depth chart. A perfect situation ... again, as long as the Yankees are willing to pay. This is another hyper-cheap team that's not playing around -- and, we're sorry, Aaron, but those are the teams where the reps are available.

You want guaranteed reps as a 33-year-old on the back nine of your career, though? You're going to (likely) have to sacrifice winning. Your shot at a ring decreases with every insinuation of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. The road to additional playing time will almost definitely be paved with losses, empty seats and a different kind of grief, and no pitch clock can save you from the interminable fate of playing behind poor pitching.

Maybe -- maybe -- the Yankees can really luck out here and swap disappointment for disappointment, attaching a prospect to get their hands on 2020 Rookie of the Year runner-up Trevor Rogers. Rogers posted a 5.47 ERA last season and a 1.50 WHIP, though most agree his "stuff" still looks good. He's equally bent out of shape in Miami, and could help the Yankees import high-upside pitching depth at a cost they have no interest in keeping around.

Oh, who are we kidding, though? It'll probably be Miami's Rookie Ball catching prospect Ronald Hernandez, MLB Pipeline's No. 22 Marlins prospect, at the very best. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.

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