No One Is Surprised About Hicks, But Does Anyone Miss Tauchman?

Do you remember this?
“I definitely see myself hitting 30 plus. That’s what I want to do and that’s what I believe I can do. If I get 500 plate appearances, I’m definitely going to hit my mark with those numbers.” – Aaron Hicks

I do and I liked the enthusiasm, but just like we said in CAN AARON HICKS HIT 30 DINGERS? he’s never healthy. Here we are in a new season and Aaron Hicks is injured AGAIN. It’s a disappointment for sure but, it’s predictable. We knew it was coming and we would need a backup plan but now that backup plan that we once had ISN’T predictable.

We always knew that If and when Hicks went down that we had Mike Tauchman waiting in the wings and he could fill in. That is until the elephant in the room finally showed up because while I was PREDICTING THE ODD MAN OUT it became clear that Tauchman just didn’t fit on this roster. The Yankees had to make a move, and now he’s gone. What’s done is done and while some of us may miss Tauchman, it does nothing to help this situation we have now with needing the right person to fill in while Hicks is out. Missing Tauchman right now is pointless and he’s not exactly killing it with the Giants, either.

And how long will Hicks be out for? Who knows right now but if Hicks does indeed need surgery for his wrist, read more HERE he could be out for most of the season. That is really hard to swallow right now. I hope that isn’t the case, and maybe it’s not as it could be BUT….we’ve seen this injury before. Remember what happened to Mark Teixeira? Yeah, same injury folks. He never came back to be the productive guy we needed him to be. Maybe I am a little haunted by that. I get that everyone’s body is different and blah blah blah….

But this is Hicks we are talking about. He’s made of glass and doesn’t have a good track record at all. The facts don’t lie, here are games played per season:
2018 – 137 games
2019 – 59 games
2020 – 54 games (Pandemic shortened 60 game season)
2021 – 32 games so far

And this is the guy that Brian Cashman gave a 7 year / $70 million contract to. He’s our new Jacoby Ellsbury. That may be a bit harsh but it’s how I feel right now. Sure $10 million average annual value sounds like a decent deal for the Yankees….but at seven years that’s a long time to pay for a guy that hasn’t proven that he can play 130+ games a season.

And now we have to get creative in the outfield while we play the ‘wait and see’ game with Hicks and hope for some good news. I hope Ryan LaMarre will be the sparkplug we need but I’m tired of rolling the dice and hoping we get lucky. Do I want to see Estevan Florial play in the Bronx? Absolutely! Problem is I really don’t think he is ready. He was just promoted and needs more time in Triple-A.

Hicks latest Injury is just more proof that the Yankees really need to overhaul their player development team because outside of a few small notable exceptions, they have missed the mark. I hope we get good news on Hicks, but honestly….I will never feel comfortable with Hicks in the outfield without fitting him for his own personal suit made out of heavy duty bubble wrap. Even that doesn’t make me feel super confident.