The New York Yankees placed outfielder Aaron Hicks on the 10-day disabled list due to what they are terming a left wrist strain, and have selected the contract outfielder Ryan LaMarre from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Hicks missed Thursday’s finale in Tampa with what the team called a wrist issue, and manager Aaron Boone said Friday that an MRI revealed a torn tendon sheath, and that Hicks would get some anti-inflammatory medication to see if that helped, hoping the center fielder would be able to be back in the lineup sometime for this series in Baltimore.
Unfortunately, Hicks will now be out at least through next week as the team figures out how he will respond to treatment, and surgery is still an option. It’s a big blow for the Yankees and for Hicks, who was 8-for-24 in May after hitting just .155 in April.
“Any time you lose one of your key players, that’s a blow, no question about it,” Boone said.
The Yankees had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so they did not need to make another move to accommodate LaMarre, who was the starter in center field for Sunday’s series finale in Baltimore.
“He’s a good defensive outfielder that can play all three positions, gives us another center fielder to go with Gardy,” Boone said of LaMarre. “Gardy’s going to be in there a lot, but we could potentially see a short-term left-right platoon with those guys in the short-term.”
So, why not Estevan Florial, who was just promoted to Triple-A earlier this week and is already on the 40-man roster?
“He’s not eligible yet – he has to be in that Triple-A protocol for 72 hours,” Boone said, referencing that players in Triple-A for at least 72 hours are in Tier 1 MLB protocol, while those not in that group must go through intake testing. “We’ll let Flo play, and obviously we’re watching what he’s doing, but it’s important that right now he gets those every day reps.”
The Yankees were also without Giancarlo Stanton in the starting lineup for the third straight game because of a tight quad, but the Yankees are confident he’ll be back in there soon.
“It’s my hope, and we’ll have a better feel later today,” Boone said. “It’s day-by-day, and I don’t think anything overly significant, but just something we’re trying to get out in front of.”
With Hicks out and Stanton banged up, Miguel Andujar has been playing left field, and Boone was asked if the Yankees may wish they had not traded Mike Tauchman.
“We were in a situation where Tauchman wasn’t getting a lot of playing time, but we also understood who we had in Mike Tauchman,” Boone said of the deal. “We, and the industry, really valued him as a player. There wasn’t the playing time we would have liked early on, but it’s also how we evaluated Peralta. He’s come in and been a key part of our bullpen since we got him.
You’ve got to give up quality to receive quality. Nothing more than that.”
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