Yankees bust is still unsigned — even though he’ll essentially cost nothing

This is bargain hunting for baseball. Of the unsigned centerfielders, Aaron Hicks could come at a cost that makes signing the former Yankees bust worth it.

After flaming out with the Yankees two months into last season, Hicks had a resurgent streak with the Baltimore Orioles, where he closed the year with a .275/.381/.425 slash with seven home runs and 31 RBI over 236 plate appearances. Hicks also showed great plate discipline, walking at 14.8% clip.

FIXING THE YANKEES:

Sign up HERE for our twice-weekly newsletter on the offseason changes

Will that be enough to convince teams to take a chance?

Essentially, Hicks will cost next to nothing for any team that does want to take a chance. The Yankees must pay $9.5 million of his salary for next season in addition to a $1 million buyout for 2025. That means any team looking to take a chance on Hicks would only need to pay the league minimum to sign him. That would cost a club $740,000 for next season, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Hicks, who agreed to an extension in 2019, was released from the Yankees in late May, one week after he was designated for assignment, an overdue decision after years of injuries and mediocrity between the lines. After signing the extension, Hicks played in only 303 games, hitting .218 with a .689 OPS. He was a below-average hitter (95 wRC+) with 31 home runs and 269 strikeouts in that span, never living up to the expectations of his contract.

NJ Advance Media’s Max Goodman contributed to this report.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Patrick Lanni may be reached at [email protected].

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.