Aaron Hicks signs a 7/70 deal with Yankees

[diehardtwinsfan]

wow.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/yankees-sign-aaron-hicks-to-dollar70-million-seven-year-extension-officially-out-on-bryce-harper/ar-BBU3Og1?ocid=spartanntp

 

 

[ewen21]

This move nicely illustrates just how different teams at the top are from all the rest.  TInstead of signing a few free agents over ten years to be paid higher they bet on Hicks. he Yankees can afford this deal since they see Hicks as Brett Gardner's replacment.  Whether they hit or miss we will find out in time.  However, this is a move teams like the Yankees can easily afford. 

 

If the Twins make deal like this it is a major risk.  I do not understand the 7 year thing, but that isn't our problem.

[Mike Sixel]

How is this a risk? It's barely more than Kepler is getting.

[Dman]

 

How is this a risk? It's barely more than Kepler is getting.

 

I would say the risk is in the age of the player and the length of the contract.  Lot's of guys decline in their early thirties and or seem to get more serious injuries.  Hicks is a good bet for the Yankee's though as he has center fielder speed and also good power so if he loses a step he can still be a good defender in a corner and his bat will still play there as well.  Also he has a good eye at the plate so even if he starts making less contact as he ages his OBP will help him continue to be productive.  Unless Aaron gets injured I like this deal for the Yankee's as the odds are in their favor to get good bang for the buck.

 

Not sure about your comparison about the money as you could just as easily say Hicks is making Double what Kepler is.  Also Kepler is three years younger and the Twins have him through his prime and if things do click he should produce similar numbers as Hicks as Kepler has a good eye, Speed to play center, and home run power.  The Twins deal is significantly better IMO.

[ewen21]

 

How is this a risk? It's barely more than Kepler is getting.

 

• Kepler gets 35 million (half of what Hicks gets)
• He's 3.5 years older than Kepler.
• He is locked up until he is 36. 
• There are a grand total of 5 outfielders 34 years and above in baseball
• He's had more than 370 PAs once. 
• He has a career batting average of .236.  

Um.....yeah

[ewen21]

Two outfielders playing baseball last year 35 and above

 

Chin Soo Choo and Ben Zobrist.

[Rosterman]

Interesting. So what is Rosario looking at from the Twins now. Or Buxton, perhaps.

 

Makes you wonder WHY the Twins gave up on Hicks. Or does it.

[h2oface]

 

 

• Kepler gets 35 million (half of what Hicks gets)
• He's 3.5 years older than Kepler.
• He is locked up until he is 36. 
• There are a grand total of 5 outfielders 34 years and above in baseball
• He's had more than 370 PAs once. 
• He has a career batting average of .236.  

Um.....yeah

 

 

And if Hicks continues his progression and regression, he will maybe be paid way less than his worth for 3 or 4 years and then what he is worth for 1 or 2, and then maybe, maybe more than he is worth for a year or two. Maybe. I can't dis the player or the contract. Seems very fair with risk split evenly to me. The Hicks for .... who was that minor league catcher....could very well go down as a worse trade than Ramos for Capps.

 

[Mike Sixel]

Seven million a year vs ten million a year. Big difference. And, if your budget is 200 million, ten is nothing. It's like people ignore how great the early years are, when saying how awful the end is certain to be. They get to spend what he's probably worth, and spread the money out over more years, giving them that all important financial flexibility.

[ewen21]

 

Seven million a year vs ten million a year. Big difference. And, if your budget is 200 million, ten is nothing. It's like people ignore how great the early years are, when saying how awful the end is certain to be. They get to spend what he's probably worth, and spread the money out over more years, giving them that all important financial flexibility.

Right, but Kepler gets 35 in guaranteed money and Hicks gets 70.  Twice as much unless I am missing something.  I also noted the difference between how the NY Yankees do business and how almost everyone else does.

 

There is no assurance Hicks is going to be great or even healthy.  He has had his share of injury issues and he will turn 30 when the Yankees are in the playoffs.  I have doubts he makes it past year five of this contract.  Not many players get to 35 playing the outfield.  Especially not an oft injured guy like Hicks

[Dman]

 

And if Hicks continues his progression and regression, he will maybe be paid way less than his worth for 3 or 4 years and then what he is worth for 1 or 2, and then maybe, maybe more than he is worth for a year or two. Maybe. I can't dis the player or the contract. Seems very fair with risk split evenly to me. The Hicks for .... who was that minor league catcher....could very well go down as a worse trade than Ramos for Capps.

 

Yeah that was a bad trade but you have to remember the context of that trade to truly understand it.  The Twins had torn Hicks down so badly that he was ready to quite baseball.  His stats were not good and thus he had little trade value at the time.  He needed a change, to change teams because there was just to much negativity to overcome in Minnesota.  

 

The Yankees were smart enough to realize that building a little confidence could go a long way but he was no sure thing at the time either.  A couple more failures and he probably hangs it up.  The Yankees took a risk and it paid off for them.

 

Personally I am glad things worked out for Aaron.  Wish it would have been with the Twins but he had the talent to make it and he did.  He worked hard and now he is set for life.  Nice job Aaron.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Yeah that was a bad trade but you have to remember the context of that trade to truly understand it.  The Twins had torn Hicks down so badly that he was ready to quite baseball.  His stats were not good and thus he had little trade value at the time.  He needed a change, to change teams because there was just to much negativity to overcome in Minnesota.

Wait a minute -- were you trying to make the trade sound better from the Twins perspective, or worse?

[Dman]

Wait a minute -- were you trying to make the trade sound better from the Twins perspective, or worse?

Neither just saying they messed up and Aaron needed a fresh start. Obviously in the end they lost big time on that trade. I am just saying I understand why they did it.

[Mike Sixel]

Hick$

2:21 Did I leave money out there or was the deal a steal in this market

Tim Dierkes

2:21 The Yankees essentially gave Hicks a six-year, $64MM deal covering his age 30-35 seasons. Conservatively, let's say he will provide 12 WAR from 2020-25. To pay $5.3MM/WAR is dirt cheap. The Padres just paid Machado at least $9.5MM/WAR. The Dodgers paid A.J. Pollock about $8MM/WAR. The Phillies paid McCutchen over $7MM/WAR. This extension is like getting a 30-40% discount even over the new, discounted free agent prices. Hicks basically gave the Yankees his 33-35 seasons for free.

[h2oface]

 

Yeah that was a bad trade but you have to remember the context of that trade to truly understand it. 

 

Really? So you think I wasn't paying attention? A TD guy, and not paying attention. Right. Good o'l Gardy. Did an amazing job with Hicks and Gomez both.

 

I hated it then, always felt Capps was cooked when they got him, and hate it worse now. C'est la vie.

 

Here's to this outfield of Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler being the best in the league this year.

 

All future and no past.

[gunnarthor]

It seems like a fair deal to both sides. Owners are trying to tramp down on payroll so Hicks probably couldn't assume a huge windfall when he hit FA. He's getting a ton of money but he is a risk, as others noted. He's had two solid seasons with NY but only played 225 games in those two years. So there is risk to NY as well. 

 

Probably a good reminder to not give up on guys like Buxton either.

[USAFChief]

Good for Hicks.

 

There is little risk here for the Yankees. He's not getting big money, and his skills tend to last well into the mid 30s...some power, a good eye, good defense/arm.

 

Among the very worst Twins trades in their history. Awful, and so unnecessary. There was zero chance Murphy would provide as much value as Hicks. Zero. 

[gman]

Hicks, a good example of how bad the Twins "were" in developing players. Hopefully the Twins have moved on from there and become a shining example of how to develop players and "steal" talent from other teams that they can reap great benefits from. 

[kenbuddha]

 

 

• There are a grand total of 5 outfielders 34 years and above in baseball

Not quite.

 

There were 16 outfields last season (5 if you require batting title eligibility).

 

[kenbuddha]

 

 

Two outfielders playing baseball last year 35 and above

 

Chin Soo Choo and Ben Zobrist.

Again, not quite. There were 8 outfielders 35 and older. Still a small number, just not as extreme.

[Nine of twelve]

 

Yeah that was a bad trade but you have to remember the context of that trade to truly understand it.  The Twins had torn Hicks down so badly that he was ready to quite baseball.  His stats were not good and thus he had little trade value at the time.  He needed a change, to change teams because there was just to much negativity to overcome in Minnesota.  

 

The Yankees were smart enough to realize that building a little confidence could go a long way but he was no sure thing at the time either.  A couple more failures and he probably hangs it up.  The Yankees took a risk and it paid off for them.

 

Personally I am glad things worked out for Aaron.  Wish it would have been with the Twins but he had the talent to make it and he did.  He worked hard and now he is set for life.  Nice job Aaron.

Trading Hicks was the right thing to do at the time. Getting a good catcher for him was the right thing to do at the time. However, the Twins got Murphy instead.

[Dman]

 

Trading Hicks was the right thing to do at the time. Getting a good catcher for him was the right thing to do at the time. However, the Twins got Murphy instead.

 

LOL I agree.  I doubt teams were lining up for a chance to get Hicks. It likely was Murphy or just let him go for nothing.  In the end they let him go for nothing.

 

Sorry I take that back they got Moya instead.

[gunnarthor]

 

Trading Hicks was the right thing to do at the time. Getting a good catcher for him was the right thing to do at the time. However, the Twins got Murphy instead.

It would've been interesting to see a "what if" with Hicks. He struggled a lot in in NY his first year - probably his worst season. That was 2016's total system failure for us. Had he posted a 64 OPS+ with the Twins that year, I'm not sure what they would've done with him. He'd have no trade value and Buxton/Kepler/Rosario were right there, struggling as well.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

It would've been interesting to see a "what if" with Hicks. He struggled a lot in in NY his first year - probably his worst season. That was 2016's total system failure for us. Had he posted a 64 OPS+ with the Twins that year, I'm not sure what they would've done with him. He'd have no trade value and Buxton/Kepler/Rosario were right there, struggling as well.

I expect we would have traded him, just for something even less than Murphy (if such a thing is possible ). More just to clear the roster spot than to get anything back, though. Hicks was still cheap, and someone would have wanted to give him another chance, just like the Yankees did.

[ewen21]

 

Again, not quite. There were 8 outfielders 35 and older. Still a small number, just not as extreme.

YOu got me.  I failed to mention Jose Bautista, Rajai Davis, Curtis Granderson, Hunter Pence, Ichiro Suzuki, Matt Holliday and Curtis Granderson.  None of them had a WAR over 1.0 and 3 of them had negative WARs

 

I figured they were not worth mentioning, but there you go

[kenbuddha]

 

YOu got me.  I failed to mention Jose Bautista, Rajai Davis, Curtis Granderson, Hunter Pence, Ichiro Suzuki, Matt Holliday and Curtis Granderson.  None of them had a WAR over 1.0 and 3 of them had negative WARs

 

I figured they were not worth mentioning, but there you go

I believe your point was about the number of players 34 or 35 and over still playing. I just think you went to fangraphs and ran a query but forgot to turn off the qualifying at bats parameter. I thought I was being helpful, a bit pedantic maybe, but helpful.

 

Not trying to "get you".

[Doomtints]

I can see why the Yankees would put this offer on the table. I don't see why Hicks would take it. He's turning into the type of player that a team overpays for.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I can see why the Yankees would put this offer on the table. I don't see why Hicks would take it. He's turning into the type of player that a team overpays for.

I don't know. 6/64 seems perfectly fine for his age 30-35 seasons, given his short resume so far. And he banked that 1 year early -- if Hicks got hurt or struggled this year, he might have found himself looking at some pretty unimpressive 1-year offers for the rest of his career.

[ewen21]

 

I believe your point was about the number of players 34 or 35 and over still playing. I just think you went to fangraphs and ran a query but forgot to turn off the qualifying at bats parameter. I thought I was being helpful, a bit pedantic maybe, but helpful.

 

Not trying to "get you".

You are precisely correct, but I did actually think about it after I posted and considered it.  I came to the conclusion there were other guys, but they were not making any impact and that was really my point.  What is the chance Hicks is worth anything (or even playing) the last couple of years of that contract.

 

Sorry if I came off bad

[Mike Sixel]

You are precisely correct, but I did actually think about it after I posted and considered it. I came to the conclusion there were other guys, but they were not making any impact and that was really my point. What is the chance Hicks is worth anything (or even playing) the last couple of years of that contract.

 

Sorry if I came off bad

They get to spread out the money over more years..... It's like the first years don't matter that he's under paid.... Or that the team gets more flexibility in terms of payroll in the early years.