Yankees acquire outfielder Aaron Hicks for backup catcher John Ryan Murphy

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- At the very least, the Yankees acquired the outfield depth they needed.

At most, they acquired a player they feel is good enough to play every day should GM Brian Cashman pull off a bigger deal down the line.

The Yankees completed a one-for-one trade Wednesday, shipping catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Twins in exchange for outfielder Aaron Hicks, a move that also opens the door for touted catching prospect Gary Sanchez to perhaps capture the backup catching job this spring.

"Gives us a lot of flexibility," Cashman said shortly after the deal became official.

Flexibility in a variety of ways.

The switch-hitting Hicks, 26, is a natural centerfielder but has played all three outfield positions, which is key because of the injury history of rightfielder Carlos Beltran and centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

But Hicks, who hit .256 with 11 homers, 11 doubles and 33 RBIs in 97 games with the Twins last season, including .307 (31-for-101) with six homers against lefthanders, also gives Cashman flexibility if he wants to execute some kind of mega-deal that involves leftfielder Brett Gardner, a possibility.

Clubs have called Cashman about Gardner this winter -- as they have in past offseasons -- and the leftfielder is one of the few tradable everyday players on the roster.

"I've been hit on Gardy over the years quite often and he hasn't gone anywhere," Cashman said. "I value Gardy a great deal and I think he's a hell of a baseball player. He's not an easy get. But this is the time of year where you go through all those exercises of having conversations and seeing if they lead anywhere that makes enough sense."

The Yankees would like to add a durable top-end-of-the-rotation starter and with their current disinclination to significantly add to the payroll with one of the big-money free agent pitchers such as David Price or Johnny Cueto, Gardner is their most marketable big-league roster piece that could potentially help land such a player.

A top prospect such as shortstop Jorge Mateo would probably have to be included for that kind of talent as well.

Cashman called Hicks "an everyday player," saying that the trade was not made with a bigger deal in mind, though he didn't discount the possibility.

"At the very least he provides us what we were getting from [reserve outfielder] Chris Young the last two years," said Cashman, who also made a minor deal Wednesday, trading utility man Jose Pirela to the Padres for 20-year-old minor- league righthanded starter Ron Herrera. "At the very most he provides us a lot of flexibility depending how the winter transpires."

Cashman added later: "It's a straight-up, good old-fashioned baseball trade. A lot of talent for a lot of talent. I think Minnesota got a good player and I certainly hope we got a good player. It provides us flexibility as we move forward . . . "

Hicks, drafted by the Twins in the first round (14th overall) of the 2008 draft, debuted in 2013 and is a career .225 hitter. But Cashman said the Yankees believe the Long Beach, California, native "figured a lot of things out in the last year, kind of like Didi [Gregorius] with us."

Should the Yankees deal Gardner, one opposing team talent evaluator said Hicks could transition to left, a position where he's started only seven times.

"Plenty of athleticism and natural outfield ability," the scout said, also talking up Hicks' arm. "And he has range which fits with the big [Yankee Stadium] leftfield. Just needs to improve knowledge and focus like most young players."

The scout added: "He still has the tools that made him a first-rounder."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.