The Aaron Hicks headache is finally over for Yankees fans but the timing of the move could not possibly be more hilarious.
Watching a month-and-a-half of Aaron Hicks suiting up for the New York Yankees when most fans would've bitten the bullet in the offseason and designated him for an assignment then has been a constant source of headaches. The veteran outfielder has been a negative on the field in just about every conceivable facet.
Yet, he remained with the club as Yankees GM Brian Cashman seemed to want to avoid eating the big money left on his contract. And in the Thursday win to conclude the heated series against the Blue Jays, Hicks finally showed something good with one of his best games of the past year-plus, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI while contributing solidly defensively.
Naturally, two days later, Aaron Hicks was informed that he was designated for assignment, per the Yankees outfielder on Saturday.
Yankees finally DFA Aaron Hicks, eat big contract, right after he actually contributed
Make no mistake, Yankees fans are rejoicing after this decision. No, you don't want to see a player's career take a negative turn — they're people too. But for fans, he's been actively hurting the team and moving on has been the right call from a business sense for some time.
After all, Hicks, even with his big game against Toronto, is still slashing just .188/.263/.261 with just one home run in 28 games while already accruing a -0.5 WAR. Frankly, most people following the Yankees probably expected those numbers to be even worse based on the eye test too.
That all being said, the timing couldn't deserve more of a chef's kiss for the levels of irony.
You could point to quite literally a dozen or more moments in which Aaron Hicks deserved to be DFA'd on the spot given his poor performance. So to do so on the heels of one of the rare bright spots of his 2023 season is just pitch-perfect of the whole debacle involving the outfielder.
This move, however, comes on the day that the Yankees traded with rival Boston for outfielder Greg Allen and, as such, it seems like this move could be to make room for Allen. He might not be the answer but, at the same time, it can't be any worse than what they were getting from Hicks.