Blue Jays: Ranking the 10 worst contracts in the AL East

3. Aaron Hicks

When Aaron Hicks was acquired by the Yankees from the Twins, he eventually began playing like the player he was supposed to be. The former first-round pick in the 2008 MLB Draft had back-to-back seasons of an OPS over .800 and an OPS+ in the 120s. Right before the 2019 season, Hicks and the Yankees agreed to a seven-year $70 million dollar extension.

Hicks was coming off of a season where he hit 27 home runs and had a .833 OPS in 137 games. He even got some MVP votes, placing 22nd on the American League ballot.

Since signing that extension, Hicks hasn’t performed close to how he did in that 2018 season. He dealt with injuries in 2019 and 2021 playing in just 91 games combined in those two seasons. During the 2020 campaign, he did play 54 games in the shortened season but hit just six home runs.

Hicks has declined both offensively and defensively, forcing Aaron Judge to play a lot of centre field. He has just a .636 OPS and appears to have lost his everyday role.

The Yankees were able to unload Joey Gallo at the deadline, but Hicks’ contract is much harder to move. He has $29.5 million dollars guaranteed over the next three seasons. While that might not be a gigantic number, especially for the Yankees, I can’t see them holding onto him for much longer.

Hicks is a centre fielder who can’t really play centre field at a high level anymore as he has a -1 OAA this season in that spot. With Hicks already losing playing time now, I’d expect him to not be on the roster in the future.