Former Yankees Outfielder Reportedly Joining Los Angeles Angels
It was a rollercoaster type of tenure for Aaron Hicks with the New York Yankees.
He was a first round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2008 out of high school and was immediately ranked as their best prospect.
Hicks made his debut with them in 2013 and spent three seasons with the Twins before they traded him to the Yankees in 2015 for John Ryan Murphy.
During his first year in New York, he struggled at the plate, recording a slash line of .217/.281/.336 with eight homers, 31 RBI and an OPS+ of 65 across 123 games.
That might have been a precursor of what was to come for how Hicks' was largely going to play with the Yankees.
However, the next four years he had an above-average OPS+ and finished 22nd in AL MVP voting in 2018 after slashing .248/.366/.467 with a career-high 27 home runs and 79 RBI.
Injuries continued to pile up for the outfielder which limited his availability.
The seven-year, $70 million contract extension he signed in 2019 also created more pressure for him to perform and he was not able to live up to the deal.
Hicks began last season on the bench before New York decided to designate him for assignment and release him in May after he played 28 games and slashed .188/.263/.261 with one home run and five RBI.
He joined the Baltimore Orioles and really turned around the perception of what he could do at this point in his career.
Across 65 games and 236 plate appearances, he posted a slash line of .275/.381/.425 with seven homers, 31 RBI and an OPS+ of 127.
This performance likely caused the Los Angeles Angels to have interest in the veteran outfielder and offer him a Major League contract for the upcoming season according to Jeff Fletcher of SoCal News Group.
The Yankees are still paying Hicks through 2025, meaning this contract is likely cheap for Los Angeles.
