NO QUICK HICKS FIX
CF NEEDS TOMMY JOHN SURGERY AFTER ALL
For the second straight yyear, the Yankees have a position player heading for Tommy John surgery.
And like Didi Gregorius last season, Aaron Hicks iis expected to be out 8-10 months, meaning the center field er could return sometime between late June and late August.
General manager Brian Cash man said during a season-ending press conference at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, that Hicks had suffered a partially tt orn UCL on Aug. 3.
An initial rest and rehab process“failed ,” according to Cashman.
“The pain immediately came back,’’ Cashman said. “He was put in a longer rest and rehab recovery time, which would lead him into missing the entire postseason and then try to get back some time in the winter … and if that failed it would be Tommy John.’’
Instead, Hicks started throwing again a this home in Arizona (“behind the scenes,’’ according to Cashman) and felt good enough to tell the Yankees about it. More rehab in Tampa resulted in Hicks being on the ALCS roster.
“He played great for us in the postseason obviously, but once it ended, there was a feeling of there’s something here that’s still not right,’’ Cashman said. “Then the follow-up examination ... that led to the ultimate decision of we’ve got to get this thing fixed.”
With Hicks sidelined for at least the first few months of the season, the Yankees are left without a true center fielder. Mike Tauchman is coming off a calf injury, and Brett Gardner and Cameron Maybin will be free agents.
Gardner had an excellent 2019 season and has expressed a desire to come back to the Yankees.
Cashman sung Gardner’s praises Thursday.
“I don’t think there’s any question about what his capabilities are,’’ Cashman said of Gardner, who turned 36 in August. “He had a tremendous season on both sides of the ball. … The main question is, ‘ Can he handle playing center field in 2020, offensively and defensively?’ I don’t think there’ s any question based on t he performance he put forth t his year and in past years.”
Asked if Jacoby Ellsbury — who hasn’t played since 2017 due to a litany of injuries — could be an option in Hicks’ absence, Cashman basically said no. “It’s hard to say based on how things have played out,’’ the GM said. “Right now, he’s not in a position, health-wise, for me to be answering in the affirmative at this time.”
➤ Masahiro Tanaka and Luke Voit already went under the knife.
Tanaka had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to remove bone spurs Wednesday, according to Cashman. Tanaka is expected to be ready for spring training. The partial tear in his UCL that he has pitched with since midway through his first season with the Yankees was not impacted by the injury. And both Cashman and Aaron Boone were confident the bone spur did not impact any of Tanaka’s outings this season.
Voit, who was bothered by core muscle injuries for much of the second half, underwent surgery to repair them on Thursday. He is expected to be back in time for spring training.
Voit’s health woes no doubt played a part in his slump down the stretch, which led to the first baseman being left off the postseason roster.