Aaron Hicks’ play with the Orioles has caught the Yankees’ attention.
That’s no surprise since Hicks, whom the Yankees released with nearly three years and $30 million remaining on his contract last month, has caught fire with the Orioles.
In 17 games since joining their AL East foes, Hicks has put up an OPS of 1.048, double his .524 OPS in 28 games with the Yankees this season.
Asked if Hicks’ breakout has caused the Yankees to reevaluate anything they did with Hicks, manager Aaron Boone said that was on his mind.
“You do wonder what you could have done differently,’’ Boone said Wednesday. “You always think that when something doesn’t work out. We bet on the talent, so we know he’s a talented guy.”
Clearly, getting out of The Bronx was good — and necessary — for Hicks.
He has been more productive in a month with the Orioles — taking over in center field due to an injury to Cedric Mullins — than he’d been for the Yankees since 2018.
“It’s to his credit that he’s done this,’’ Boone said. “He could have taken his ball and gone home. Instead, he got after it, went back into the fire in this division and figured out a way to contribute for a team that’s playing well. I’m glad he’s doing well.”
By the end of his time with the Yankees, Hicks was routinely being booed in The Bronx, although his last week with the team prior to being designated for assignment was his best of the season.
The Yankees ultimately chose to go with Greg Allen over Hicks in a fourth outfielder role.
Hicks has credited Baltimore’s hitting coaches with getting him back to what he was doing in his standout 2018 season.
“I think there are a lot of things and different factors that you could look at,’’ Boone said of Hicks. “It’s a stretch of [17] games. It’s a change of scenery. It’s playing every day and maybe getting a fresh start.”
Hitting coach Dillon Lawson agreed.
“He wasn’t performing and then he had to move on and sometimes that happens,’’ Lawson said. “Now he’s somewhere else and sometimes that helps. He had a hard time here, obviously, the last little while and being in a different environment can always help.”
Lawson and assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes both have relationships with Baltimore’s hitting coaches. Lawson said he spoke with Matt Borgschulte about Hicks.
The real challenge for Hicks and the Orioles will be sustaining that success.
Less than a year ago, the Yankees traded Joey Gallo to the Dodgers while in the midst of a disastrous season.
At the time of the trade, Gallo was hitting just .159 with an OPS of .621.
In his first 14 games with Los Angeles, Gallo hit .257 and his OPS was 1.010 and was talking about being comfortable in the more relaxed environment of Southern California compared to The Bronx.
By the end of the season, Gallo’s numbers had dipped to nearly as bad as they were when he left the Yankees.
Hicks and the Orioles will visit Yankee Stadium early next month, with the veteran outfielder attempting to prove his turnaround is no fluke.
