It takes quite a bit of pain tolerance to require Tommy John surgery and still play during the postseason when fatigue has set in, and baseball is at its most intense. Immediately following the New York Yankees‘ elimination from the ALCS in 2019, Hicks succumbed to surgery to repair his elbow ligament.
This offseason, Hicks has spent his days recovering while the Yankees begin spring training with a fresh crop of outfielders. It’s expected that veteran leader, Brett Gardner, will supplement Hicks’ loss until his return in August (projected).
The next steps in his recovery rely on his progress, but he’s hoping to begin throwing in the coming weeks.
“I want to be throwing by then (the end of Spring Training),†Hicks said, per SNY. “I want to be throwing and kind of start becoming a baseball player again. So once I’m able to kind of do that, I’ll start to hit, move around, do some defensive stuff and actually start to be more active. … I kind of want to start throwing first and then I’ll kind of be able to gauge it better from there. But of course I want to get back as fast as possible.â€
Hicks mentioned former teammate Didi Gregorius, who experienced the same injury and recovery process. The difference, however, was that Didi managed to avoid significant pain and returned to the Yanks and played in 82 games.
“Didi’s kind of a freak of nature,†Hicks said. “He would say he had no pain and, at times, I’ve felt pain and stuff like that. But we definitely talked a lot, especially about grip strength and just continually to get strong and keep it going. He said that that was a big part of his recovery, was being able to have his grip strength strong and that’s definitely something I’ve been keeping up with.â€
Once Aaron does return, Gardner will likely be designated to the bench as he waits for his next opportunity to fill a specific role. It’s always motivating to have so much talented depth at positions of extreme importance.