Hicks Out For Months with Wrist Injury

Aaron Hicks, the Yankees‘ center-fielder, will undergo wrist surgery, said Aaron Boone this Friday. The outfielder has been working and receiving treatment for the past week in hopes that surgery could be avoided, but the torn tendon sheath in his left wrist has proved too difficult to rehab completely. Boone indicated that the recovery has no exact timeline besides the recovery will take months. With an injury like this that arises without a sudden moment, but rather from wearing down over time, the rehab will be integral to Hicks returning.

Another Injury for Hicks

This is yet another injury for the 31-year-old who has been on the injured list seven times as a Yankee. In 2019, at the end of a season in which he signed a seven-year, $70 million contract extension, Hicks underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. That year, Hicks only played 86 of 222 possible games.

Injuries have been exhausting for Hicks throughout his career, and with the recent sluggish performance in the batter’s box, there is hope that this might explain some of the issues as of late. However, the Yankees are surely worried about the value of Hicks’ contract and how much Hicks will miss for this most recent wrist injury.

Boone spoke of the timeline as most likely going to take months and that he did not know exactly how long it will take, but Hicks will definitely not be returning for the rest of the season.

“I’d rather, let’s get through the surgery and see what they say about a potential timeline,” said Hicks.

Yankees Will Miss Hicks

Without Hicks, the Yankees won’t have much trouble filling the gap, but Hicks will most certainly be missed. The historic Brett Gardner will take the job in the meantime, proving yet again his role as a rock on the New York Yankee roster. He is ever more needed right now since Ryan LaMarre, the center fielder called up to replace Hicks for the past week, injured his hamstring on Wednesday. 

Hicks has been batting .194/.294/.333 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in total this season. Hicks has been an important member of the Yankees team this year that is currently in 2nd place in the AL East and 1.5 games back. With an extra boost necessary to push the Yankees into that first place position, people have been looking to the Yankees top prospect Estevan Florial for a long term option.

The 23-year-old was recently promoted to AAA and had been batting .143 over his first five games. Boone was hesitant to suggest Florial would get a call up when asked about the possibility of him being featured in the Yankees’ lineup soon.

“You never want to bring anyone up here that you don’t feel like is at least somewhat ready to take on that challenge, especially when you’re talking about a player with Flo’s potential,” Boone said.

For now, it looks like the job is Gardner’s, who is the only healthy natural center-fielder besides Florial on the 40-man roster. For the sake of the Yankees and Hicks, hopefully, the surgery goes well, and he is well on his way to a full recovery shortly.

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