The identity of the Yankees’ right winger who starts every time the next match is unknown, but the man in the middle of the field says he will be ready to chase the ball flying in the gap and deny base runners from taking additional bases.
Aaron Hicks was asked on Friday if the season would start late next month, whether his improved right elbow would allow him to participate.
“I’m ready to play,” Hicks told The Post by telephone from Tampa, where he had hit and thrown at George M. Steinbrenner’s Field for the past few weeks. “The plan is for July to see where I am and ready to play the game. For me, I want to return to the strength of the arm that I had before. “
Hicks, who underwent Tommy John’s surgery after the Yankees were eliminated from the ALCS by Astros last October, estimated the strength of his arm to be at 80 percent and improve.
“I did very well. I throw up to 160 feet, take BP on the field and do defensive work, ” said Hicks, who was limited to 59 matches a year ago because of a lower back problem that arose in spring training and a tense right flexor injury. in early August. “I am getting better and better [throwing] every day and every week. The pitch is getting stronger. Definitely coming. He comes in his own way when he wants it. I’m not too far away. I will throw to the base come here soon, think about next week. My arms feel amazing. ‘
Switch-hit Hicks has been hitting for two months with no problems outside “trying to find out about hitting again.”
In addition to quarantine imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, 30-year-old Hicks welcomed Jaylen’s son to the world on May 6 and has been in Tampa for two weeks.
Aaron HicksN.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
With an emphasis on safety and health, a small number of Yankees who work at Steinbrenner Field are divided into groups of four and stagger. And because Hicks is not in the Aaron Judge group, Hicks has no update on what the right winger did when he returned from a broken right upper rib that was discovered in spring training and is believed to have taken a dive to get the ball last September.
Regarding the 60 or 70 match schedule, Hicks was asked about the challenges of sprinting rather than playing 162 regular games.
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“As a starter, you have to know that you have to play every game because there is no time,” said Hicks, who is likely to be careful with Aaron Boone because he also has Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman as the main players. . “Anything can happen in season 60 matches.
“You have to get out quickly and you have to come out strong. You must make a separation between you and the other team. “
Placed on the injured list with his right flexor muscle strain in early August, Hicks felt good enough to throw so that he made it back to the Astros series and started Games 3, 4, 5 and 6 on midfield despite not having played before since 3 August. In four postseason matches Hicks fought .154 (2-for-17) with homer and 17 RBI.
Asked if he regretted coming back, which might have led to Tommy John’s surgery, Hicks said it was available for the Yankees to take that day.
“I have a feeling that I have to undergo surgery so I don’t regret it at all. I feel the decision I made was for my team. I feel my team is stronger with me on the field, ” said Hicks, who is in the second leg of a $ 70 million seven-year contract.
After being on the injury list 11 times since breaking into the big league in 2013 with the Twins, Hicks said he knew when his body was ready to play.
“Sucking pain for a few matches, that’s fine with me,” he said. “I feel that is something I need to do.”
