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Aaron Boone walking to the mound to change pitchers
Heading into the regular season, the New York Yankees rotation has multiple questions. Injuries are never something a team can plan for, but at this rate, the Yankees should understand they’ll deal with them.
Losing Gerrit Cole hurts. He’s the ace of this staff, and many were hopeful that he’d return to his Cy Young stuff in 2025. That won’t be the case, but the Yankees can’t let the season go to waste. Trading for another arm needs to happen in the near future, and a proposed trade from Nick San Miguel of Around the Fog Horn would help them do just that.
San Miguel proposed a deal that would move Tim Hill to the San Francisco Giants for Jordan Hicks, a right-hander who can run it up on the radar gun.
“As a left-handed submariner who gets ground balls with regularity, he is the perfect pitcher to bring into the game with runners on base when you need to induce a ground ball and get an inning-ending double play. In return, New York would be getting an electric, if sometimes unruly, arm who has flashed potential as a starter. It is a move that could be beneficial for both sides if executed.
“This close to Opening Day, a trade like this would be quite rare. But if the season goes on a bit and it is clear that the Yankees are in desperate need of another starter while the Giants could really benefit from having another left-handed reliever, maybe a deal like this could come to fruition,” San Miguel wrote.
Hicks Has Question Marks
While Hicks was once a pitcher who could run it up to 100-plus miles per hour with relative ease, he transitioned into a full-time starter role for the San Francisco Giants last season. His velocity was down, which isn’t the biggest surprise, but it’s something the New York Yankees have to consider.
Ready to go for his second stint as a starter, Hicks said he feels better this year than last. The Yankees might want to see it first, but that’s a positive sign if they want him.
“I think I’m just built for a better season and feeling stronger further into the season,” Hicks said, according to Maria Guardado of MLB.com. “I feel stronger. I have a better base. My legs feel strong. It feels easier to hit the higher velocities. I’d say that’s one of the bigger changes. I feel good mentally. I think I’m in a good spot with challenging hitters. I just want to be in the zone with all my stuff. That’s my main focus.”
What’s the Yankees Plan?
Right now, there isn’t much the New York Yankees can do if they don’t have starters ready to go. They’ll have to roll out some questionable arms and hope things go well.
That typically doesn’t end well, but they’re ready to do it.
From the sound of things, it’ll be a team effort for the Yankees until help comes.
“There’s quality people that we know are capable of stepping in and getting it done,” Aaron Boone said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “And that will be the expectation.”
Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan
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