Today, Aaron Hicks has agreed to a deal with the Angels, per Mark Feinsand. Los Angeles will pay him the minimum, as the Yankees are still covering the remainder of his contract through 2025. It is a Major league deal, so Hicks will be added to the 40-man roster. The Angels DFA’d reliever Kolton Ingram to make room for Aaron Hicks.
So who is Aaron Hicks and how does this help the Angels?
Aaron Hicks, 34, is an American professional baseball outfielder (raised in Long Beach) who played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, and most recently, the Baltimore Orioles in 2023.
Here's a quick rundown of his career:
Drafted: In the first round (14th overall) of the 2008 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins.
MLB debut: April 1, 2013, with the Twins.
Teams: Twins (2013-2015), Yankees (2016-2023), Orioles (2023).
Position: Primarily plays center field, but can also play left and right field.
Batting: Switches between left and right-handed.
On February 25 2019, Hicks signed a seven-year, $70 million contract extension with the Yankees but was released by them in 2023 due to poor performance.
Hicks was once seen as a very good defensive outfielder, specifically center field, and a pretty solid hitter. His best year came in 2018 when he hit 27 HR, 89 RBI. Hicks also has a very strong arm and above-average speed to play tremendous defense in center field. However, since the start of Covid, he has struggled quite a bit which led to Yankees releasing him.
How does this help the Angels? Well, although he's struggled and is getting old, he showed some signs of life when the Baltimore Orioles picked him up last season. With the Orioles, Hicks hit 7 HR, had 31 RBI, .275 AVG, .806 OPS in 65 games. Not bad. Is this a good signing? Yes, becuase they paid him the minimum which is around $700,000. He may still have it so this can be a steal signing. But if he sucks, it shouldn't hurt too much since they didn't pay a lot. The four outfield spots so far belong to Trout, Ward, Moniak and Adell.
Now, the OF has more depth. But also some decisions this spring. Let's see.
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