Yankees acquire Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy

MakMan44

stole corsi's dream
SoSH Member
Aug 22, 2009
19,363
I'm actually a fan of JR Murphy. Think the trade made sense for both siddes.
 

Minneapolis Millers

Wants you to please think of the Twins fans!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
4,753
Twin Cities
Agree that the trade makes sense for both teams, trading from positions of depth. MN's really thin at C.

Hicks is "toolsy" but has been maddeningly inconsistent, with whispers of stubbornness/coachability concerns. That said, he was a plus player this past season - playing for Molitor might have helped. He's not as good as Gardner, though...
 

rembrat

Member
SoSH Member
May 26, 2006
36,345
If this leads to Gardner being traded I'll be ecstatic. Gardner really sets things up for their offense and he has more pop than Ellsbury at this point. They would surely miss him.
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,478
Rogers Park
If this leads to Gardner being traded I'll be ecstatic. Gardner really sets things up for their offense and he has more pop than Ellsbury at this point. They would surely miss him.
Presumably they'd add Heyward or Upton, right? I doubt Hicks is being brought in to start.
 

Wingack

Yankee Mod
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
34,360
In The Quivering Forest
Agree that the trade makes sense for both teams, trading from positions of depth. MN's really thin at C.

Hicks is "toolsy" but has been maddeningly inconsistent, with whispers of stubbornness/coachability concerns. That said, he was a plus player this past season - playing for Molitor might have helped. He's not as good as Gardner, though...
But if they can move Gardner for an upgrade elsewhere than the Yankees could be looking at a nice overall upgrade. Cashman is trying to get younger and cheaper in the places he can make it happen. I think Gardner is a goner but I think Cashman can get something good for him.
 

StuckOnYouk

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2006
3,538
CT
Hicks against LHP: 870 OPS in 112 PA
Hicks against RHP: 661 OPS in 251 PA


Home: 853 OPS (197 PA)
Road: 588 OPS (193 PA)

First half OPS 720
Second half OPS 721

Innings 1-3: OPS 923
Innings 4-6: OPS 656
Innings 7-9: OPS 589

Arb eligible: 2017
FA elibigle: 2020
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
Nice deal for the Yankees. Hicks seems like a decent estimate for what JBJs trade value is.

I would think JBJ has a bit higher trade value still as he did have the one month, and in theory has a bit higher upside still.

If this free the Yankees up to keep Sanchez, then it is a big win for them, Sanchez isn't the athlete that Murphy is behind the plate, but his arm is better and obviously the bat has huge upside

I don't imagine Hicks will be a long term solution to the Yankees, but he can field the ball, and give them a year or two for cheap money to hold down a spot while Judge and some of the other young players develop
 

Lowrielicious

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 19, 2011
4,328
Hicks against LHP: 870 OPS in 112 PA
Hicks against RHP: 661 OPS in 251 PA
870 OPS hitting right and the power bump that should come from the short porch when hitting left at home makes for a pretty decent player when you add in his defense.
That's without factoring any sort of improvement and Hicks is generally viewed as not coming close to the potential he showed as a prospect I think. He is no spring chicken, but players have broken out at his age and older before.

This has the potential to be a very nice trade for Cashman. (goddammit).
 

InsideTheParker

persists in error
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,371
Pioneer Valley
Gardner was injured most of last year, which probably accounts for his numbers being down. What makes all of you think the Yankees intend to unload him, apart from the trade for Hicks?
 

rembrat

Member
SoSH Member
May 26, 2006
36,345
Everything points to the Yankees trying to get younger via the trade market and Brett Gardner is probably their most attractive trade chip to someone looking for proven ML talent signed to a reasonable contract.
 

Plympton91

bubble burster
SoSH Member
Oct 19, 2008
12,408
This seems to me like an unbelievably good deal for the Yankees. Maybe I'm under rating Murphy though.
 

cromulence

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2009
6,699
This seems to me like an unbelievably good deal for the Yankees. Maybe I'm under rating Murphy though.
If it wasn't for Sanchez, I wouldn't be a big fan of this deal. Murphy's bat showed some promising signs this year and his defense has vastly improved. He was considered a bat-first catcher as a prospect, so the thought was that if his d improved, he could be a good everyday catcher. I don't think he's gonna hit like the Yankees initially hoped he would, but I do think he can be a regular starting catcher in the majors.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
I'm back, I didn't realize SoSH was back because it wasn't showing up at all for me, and I had serious withdrawal when this deal went down. When the Kimbrel deal happened today, I googled about it, saw that SoSH actually was back, got Sumner to help and here I am, I know you all missed me (not).

I really like this deal, Murphy had a good second half hitting and is solid defensively, but since there was no way they could move McCann (big contract, no-trade), I love freeing up the spot for Gary Sanchez, even if Romine takes the job initially out of spring training.
 

derekson

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 26, 2010
6,224
Hicks seems to me more likely to be a replacement for Chris Young than a full-time starter replacing Gardner. His splits make him a good candidate to rest guys like Gardner and Ellsbury against LHP, and he can be a defensive replacement for Beltran in RF when he doesn't start. I don't see the Yankees trading Gardner to bet on Hicks as a full-time player. Maybe if he excels in part-time play in 2016 they give him a shot in 2017, but I wouldn't expect the Yankees to dump an OFer due to this trade.
 

hbk72777

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
1,945
I'm back, I didn't realize SoSH was back because it wasn't showing up at all for me, and I had serious withdrawal when this deal went down. When the Kimbrel deal happened today, I googled about it, saw that SoSH actually was back, got Sumner to help and here I am, I know you all missed me (not).

I really like this deal, Murphy had a good second half hitting and is solid defensively, but since there was no way they could move McCann (big contract, no-trade), I love freeing up the spot for Gary Sanchez, even if Romine takes the job initially out of spring training.
I was wondering why I wasn't getting my timely Yankee news. You always beat me to finding out all of the trades.

P.S. I don't see a mention of the Pirela trade anywhere, what did you think of it?
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Another good move, Pirela had even less of a future in NY after they got Ackley, and it cleared a 40 man roster spot and added a young arm with potential who didn't need to be protected. They might have to do another one or two of those this offseason, because their 40 man roster is very packed still.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
I had no idea that Hicks had an arm like this, Jack Curry said that three of his OF throws last year were clocked at over 100 MPH (!!!!):