The New York Yankees’ easiest upgrade at left field is an unlikely one according to YES Network’s Jack Curry.
The Yankees were able to get Aaron Judge back this offseason, which was priority No. 1, 2, and maybe even 3 on Brian Cashman’s list. But fans are greedy and want talent on the roster from top-to-bottom.
Specifically, with the roster the way it is now, fans are largely content, but one area of the roster looks really bad going into Spring Training: Left field.
Judge back in right field is a welcome sight. Harrison Bader taking on center field will be great for the team, too. But as it stands now, Aaron Hicks is the starting left-fielder. That’s just not going to cut it for most fans, considering Hicks was pretty much booed off the field last season.
The solution has long been thought to have been Bryan Reynolds, who is reportedly available for trade. The Pirates are playing hard to get with him, though, and Jack Curry spoke on YES recently, saying that fans shouldn’t expect to see a trade materialize… At least not anytime soon:
"“The Yankees have been connected to Bryan Reynolds and the Pittsburgh Pirates in this offseason. I would not expect that is something that is going to happen, there haven’t been substantive conversations between those two sides recently."
The worst-case scenario at LF keeps coming true.
This report from Curry makes sense, as the Pirates are seeking a massive haul, something along the lines of what Juan Soto got the Washington Nationals previously.
Here’s the good about Aaron Hicks
As bad as he is at the plate, Hicks technically gets on base. He had the fourth-best OBP in 2022, propelled by the third-most walks on the team.
Why pitchers didn’t just give him easy pitches down the middle with how poorly he was hitting, we have no idea.
Here’s the bad about Aaron Hicks
Hicks’s fielding has been incredibly poor at times, and he’s a strikeout machine.
Non-Aaron Hicks options the Yankees have on the roster
The Yankees could bench Hicks and roll with Oswaldo Cabrera or even Giancarlo Stanton. Neither of those players are athletically equipped to hold it down in the expansive LF that Yankee Stadium has, and you’d prefer to see them in RF instead.
Bader in center field, though, gives you a lot of hope that he can cover a lot of speed and route-running issues Stanton or Cabrera might have.