Aaron Hicks returns to Yankees’ lineup
Yankees centerfielder Aaron Hicks, right, high-fives teammates as the Yankees are introduced on Opening Day in Toronto on Thursday. Credit: AP / Nathan Denette
BOSTON — Thirteen days earlier, Aaron Hicks didn’t think he was injured enough to be put on the disabled list, though he understood the Yankees’ decision.
Not surprisingly, he reported no issues when he officially came off it Thursday.
“No, I was not excited about going on the DL, but [it was a precautionary] thing,” said Hicks, who returned to the Yankees’ lineup as the DH on Thursday night. “Now it’s in the past.”
Hicks was placed on the DL with a Grade 1 right intercostal muscle strain on March 30, a day after going 2-for-4 in the Yankees’ season opener in Toronto.
Because of Hicks’ past issues with that kind of injury — he was limited to 88 games in 2017 because of separate DL stints resulting from oblique strains on his left and right side — the Yankees played it cautiously.
“It’s been a while,” Hicks said of the last time he felt the injury. “The day of [March 30] is when I felt it. Didn’t really feel it much during the whole rehab process. But with my past with the whole oblique thing, they just wanted to prevent that.”
Hicks’ final hurdle was his rehab outing with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night, a game in which he went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.
“Everything went well,” he said. “Played all nine innings, got four at-bats. Swing felt good, body feels good.”
CC you next week
CC Sabathia, placed on the DL last Saturday with a right hip strain, threw a bullpen session Thursday and reported no issues.
“All good from what I understand,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “Hopefully he’ll be in position to take his start next week at some point. But we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Wanna get away?
Tyler Austin, suspended for five games by MLB for his role in Wednesday’s brawl, said he did his best to avoid coverage of the incident.
“I’ve kind of just tried not to pay attention to it, to be honest with you,” Austin said before learning of his five-game suspension, which he is appealing. “It’s hard not to when it’s on every TV channel, but for the most part, I’ve tried to keep off of reading comments on social media and watching the TV.”
