Trade Breakdown: Aaron Hicks To The Yankees

The John Ryan Murphy for Aaron Hicks trade looks great for all involved. The Twins needed catching depth and the Yankees needed, at the very least, a fourth outfielder.

As fourth outfielders go, Hicks is an improvement over Chris Young. He is younger, 26 years old to Young's 32.  He is a switch hitter, where Young only bats right-handed.  (Hicks batted .307 vs lefties this past year, and .235 vs righties.) And he is a strong defender, with young being a few ticks below.

Perhaps this is why GM Brian Cashman believes Hicks is an "everyday player."  He wouldn't elaborate much on why he said it, but lots of people are doing a lot of speculating.  In the middle of all this speculating? Brett Gardner.

I wasn't on the Trade Brett Gardner Bandwagon at first, but the idea of it is something that has grown on me of late. Gardner makes a lot of money and, aside from taking a lot of pitches, his game really has been non-existent.  The switch-hitting Hicks is younger and cheaper, and seems to be a better base stealer. (He stole 13 bases in 97 games this past year, to Gardner's 20 in 151.)

There's a long way to go this off-season. We won't know exactly where Aaron Hicks will fit on the team for some time. For now, though, we can welcome him and wish him well.