Ahead of the 2019 season, the New York Yankees signed a deal they would later regret. They extended outfielder Aaron Hicks on a seven-year, $70 million contract that made plenty of sense at the time, coming off two campaigns of 6.6 fWAR combined and wRC+ finished off 128 and 129 in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
However, things went downhill after 2019 when he had Tommy John surgery and then when a torn wrist tendon required a season-ending procedure in 2021. He was never the same after that and the Yankees designated him for assignment and released him in May 2023.
The Yankees are still paying Aaron Hicks
They have been responsible for most of his salary after that point and will pay him a staggering amount of money in 2025, too, which is supposed to be the last year of his contract with the Yankees.
“Of course, that Hicks extension still hasn’t expired, meaning he’s on the books for $9.26 million next season as well. Not to say that’ll be the difference in any Soto conversations; after all, Hicks won’t still be lingering in Year 12 of the Generational One’s next contract. Still, in the name of monetary efficiency, it really stings to see this blockage,” Adam Weinrib of Yanks Go Yard wrote.
The Yankees are feeling the pain of the Hicks extension
We all know the Yankees have too much money to worry about $9.26 million in the grand scheme of things. The problem is that the dead money of Hicks and other ugly contracts doesn’t help them manage an already tough competitive balance tax (CBT) situation.
Again, perhaps the extension made sense at the time, but it should be a cautionary tale about giving a seven-year extension to a 29-year-old player.
He was actually solid for the Baltimore Orioles after being signed as a cheap reclamation project immediately after the Yankees released him in 2023, but he was flat-out bad with the Los Angeles Angels this past season (20 wRC+ in 18 games).
These things happen more often than you think and are part of baseball. But there is no denying it hurts to see as Yankees fans might tell you.
