One baseball storyline due to the COVID-19 shutdown is that teams are getting more players back from injury. The Yankees are a good example on that front. Not only are Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton likely over March maladies, but center fielder Aaron Hicks is coming back from Tommy John surgery. Hicks says he will be ready to go if there is baseball to be played in July.
"I would be ready to play,'' Hicks told The New York Post. "The plan was July to see where I am at and ready to play games. For me, I want to be back to the arm strength I had before."
If there is a deal to play MLB this season, it seems likely to be in the range of 60 games, starting sometime in the middle of July. As things stand, 2020 Opening Day seems most likely to fall somewhere between July 16-20.
Hicks told the Post he's around 80 percent in terms of throwing-arm strength. Remember, there's an option to DH him as well, though a decent portion of his value comes from his glove.
If fully healthy, Hicks would likely be the Yankees' everyday center fielder with Judge in right, Brett Gardner in left and Stanton at DH.
Hicks, 30, hit .235/.325/.443 (103 OPS+) with 12 homers and 36 RBI in 59 games last season. He was injured, obviously. In 2018, Hicks posted 4.2 WAR in 137 games while hitting .248/.366/.467.
Now, like the rest of the baseball world, Hicks and the Yankees will wait around for word on the 2020 season. We do know that Hicks believes he'll be ready by Opening Day, whenever that might be.
