Aaron Hicks is not expected to return to Yankees this season, Aaron Boone says
Aaron Hicks of the Yankees looks on against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium on May 21, 2021. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Yankees injury news and updates and roster moves came fast and furious on Thursday.
- Aaron Hicks, who underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn sheath in his left wrist, is not expected to return this season, manager Aaron Boone said.
- Corey Kluber and Luke Voit were both placed on the 10-day injured list. Kluber (shoulder) is expected to miss two months. The timeline on Voit (oblique strain) is uncertain.
- DJ LeMahieu returned from paternity leave and was in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Blue Jays.
- Righthander Albert Abreu and centerfielder Estevan Florial were called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Florial started Game 2 and went 1-for-3 with a double, but his stay in the majors was short as he was sent back to Scranton because Giancarlo Stanton (quad strain) is on track to be activated on Friday when the Yankees open a series in Detroit.
- Gerrit Cole will open the Detroit series. Deivi Garcia will be called up to start on Saturday. Sunday’s starter is uncertain, but it could be righthander Michael King.
- Righthander Nick Nelson was named as the 27th man for the second game.
- Reliever Zack Britton (elbow surgery) is set to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday with Double-A Somerset.
- Boone said Luis Severino’s rehab from Tommy John surgery could be shorter than normal as the Yankees are considering not building up the righthander completely during his minor league rehab starts. Severino could be activated as a 2-to-3-inning pitcher and build up in the majors, Boone said.
The Hicks news was expected. The centerfielder and No. 3 hitter started slowly this season, was dropped in the order, and then went on the IL with the wrist injury with a .194 batting average and .627 OPS in 32 games.
"It looks like it’s going to cost him the year," Boone said. "I think it’s that 4-6 months. This is something that, obviously, I guess with any injury, but this is definitely not something that you want to rush back from. It’s my understanding that it’ll probably spill into the offseason, his rehab. But I haven’t got a concrete timeline exactly."
Brett Gardner has taken over in center. Florial, who started the season at Double-A, was batting .176 in eight games in Triple-A. Overall, he had six home runs in 17 minor league games in 2021. The 23-year-old played in one game for the Yankees in 2020, going 1-for-3.
"It was nice to get him a taste last year and get his first big league hit and stuff out of the way," Boone said. "From a health standpoint and a performance standpoint and because of necessity, he put himself in a position to be here and would not surprise me at all if he takes this opportunity and is able to impact us. We know what he’s capable of."
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
