Following last year’s postseason, New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks decided to undergo Tommy John surgery after dealing with elbow trouble all season. He successfully had surgery and has been rehabbing since he got it in late October.
Hicks began a throwing program during the middle of March and has continued that. This week it was reported by Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger that Hicks had also begun swinging a bat. He has been working out in Arizona since late March and has been there ever since.
Hicks said during an interview with YES Network that he began hitting “with a regular bat and with a fungo, so things have been moving along smoothly.” Besides working to get back to 100%, Hicks has also been doing what everyone is during the quarantine. “Then I go … back home and just hang out and watch TV and just relax,” Hicks said.
Due to the MLB shutdown, a delayed start to the season will benefit Hicks. When he first got the surgery, it was reported that he was aiming for a mid-summer return but it’s possible that Hicks is ready before that. Of course, there’s no reason to rush anything because there’s no set start date yet.
If baseball does return in 2020, the delayed start can be hugely beneficial for the New York Yankees. Aaron Judge, James Paxton, and Giancarlo Stanton have all been dealing with injuries and tweaks on their own and the downtime can pay off if the season begins.