AARON’S RETURN ON HOLD
Center fielder needs cortisone shot in back
TAMPA — Aaron Hicks needed a cortisone shot in his lower right back Monday and will be out another “three to four days,” the Yankees center fielder said Tuesday afternoon. He and the Yankees are not worried about this preventing him from being ready for Opening Day. At least not yet. “Obviously there is a level of concern, but I am confident that we’re just treating it conservatively and making sure it is all out of there and he can hit the ground running,” Aaron Boone said before Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “I am not too worried about it. Anytime one of your players is out for an extended period, you gotta have some level of concern.”
The 29-year old, who signed a seven-year $70 million extension last month, however, indicated that he has continued to have pain in his back whenever he tried to do baseball activities.
That was why doctors decided to give him the cortisone shot Monday after doing exams to make sure there was nothing structurally damaged.
“Something like this, it’s been lingering, so we gotta do something about it,” Hicks said. “I think at least by me getting it, I’ll probably lose like three or four days and get on the field after that.
“As of right now, I don’t know when I get in there.”
Just 16 days from Opening Day, Hicks and the Yankees remain confident he has time to heal and get ready, but it is getting close. The Yankees have 12 games left in Florida before an exhibition game against the Nationals in Washington.
“He saw the doctor, ran more tests, just to be safe. Everything checked out,” Boone said. “They gave him the shot, so it will just be treatment today and hopefully tomorrow he’ll be able to do some things if everything goes well.”
Boone hoped that Hicks could possibly get back into spring training games this weekend. If this lingers into next week, however, a Grapefruit League start then would begin to affect any back-dating the Yankees could do on a possible injured list assignment.
“I would say we’re not close to that. Sure there is a point, absolutely. The hope is tomorrow he comes in we start ramping him up and maybe by the weekend he’s back,” Boone said. “I would say we’re not at that point. We’re not concerned about that. But yeah, I’d say there’s a point where he needs to get some reps under his belt and build up his innings. We’re not there yet. I don’t know that point yet.”
Hicks could get his plate appearances and build up innings in the outfield in minor-league games.
“If I need to get at-bats I can go down to the minor league side and do that, but I feel pretty good today, no pain is a big thing for me, you know especially when it comes to swinging,” Hicks said. “Until I start doing something like that is when I will know for sure.” And that’s the issue. Hicks has been out of the lineup since experiencing soreness/stiffness in a game on March 1. He had an MRI and saw a doctor on Mar. 4 and has been limited to treatment for most of that time. He has attempted baseball activities several times, but has been restricted.
“Throwing was a big issue and then hitting is obviously with even more torque,” Hicks said. “A lot of things. It all depends on what I am doing that day.”
Hicks is a critical piece to the Yankees lineup. He is their only switch hitter, and he does it with power from both sides of the plate. He can hit any place in the lineup from leadoff to cleanup.
Last season Hicks hit .248/.366/.467 last season with 27 home runs and 79 RBI last season. He set career-highs in runs scored (90), hits (119), extra-base hits (48), RBI and walks (90). He also set a career high with a 4.9 WAR, which was third among all center fielders.
His importance to the lineup is one reason the Yankees pushed to get the seven-year extension with Hicks. While a good deal for the Yankees in terms of giving them a $10 million annual average value, it was a risk with his history of injuries.
Hicks has missed time with injuries to both hamstrings, an oblique injury and an intercostal injury in his time with the Yankees. Last season was the first that Hicks played in more than 125 games.