What role will Aaron Hicks play for his new team?
Outfielder Aaron Hicks was dealt to the New York Yankees Wednesday in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy in an interesting trade for both teams. Hicks had blossomed into a Gold Glove-type center fielder for the Twins after disappointing in spells during 2013 and 2014, though he would have been blocked by Byron Buxton in Minnesota. Murphy was a backup catcher for the Yankees in 2015 and would not have started over Brian McCann in New York, but had a .284 batting average in 2015 and .277 batting average in 2014. Neither are guaranteed starting positions with their new teams, but each will have an opportunity to make a strong fantasy impact in 2016.
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Fantasy Impact
On face value, the Yankees have three starting outfielders in Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Carlos Beltran, with Aaron Judge waiting in the minor leagues and a lack of designated hitter availability for the aging veteran Beltran. Hicks should be a backup for the Yankees as they are currently constituted, but the team may not be done with their trading for the winter. Brett Gardner has been involved in a lot of trade rumors this offseason and Hicks may slot into center field, with Jacoby Ellsbury moving to left after a potential trade.
Although Hicks only had a .721 OPS during the 2015 season, a combined .655 OPS in 819 career at-bats, he did have 13 stolen bases in 16 attempts, adding 11 home runs in 352 at-bats, and had a .948 OPS with Triple-A Rochester in 38 games. There is a chance that Hicks is a 20-home run, 20-steal player if given 500 or more at-bats in 2016, but there is a strong chance that he spends a lot of the season on the bench or in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre unless Gardner is traded.
The Twins, on the other hand, are filling a need at catcher with Murphy, as neither Josmil Pinto nor Kurt Suzuki filled the bill for the overachieving Twins. Murphy is 24 years old, adding to the under-25 core of Buxton, Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Oswaldo Arcia. He has hit .280 over the last two seasons, but only has 19 extra-base hits in 262 career at-bats, including only four home runs. Ironically, fantasy owners will see a lot of Joe Mauer in Murphy, as he has very little power, but a strong contact rate. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, he does not have Mauer’s plate discipline, as Mauer has a 11.9% BB% for his career and Murphy only has a 6% BB%. He will get the opportunity to start in Minnesota and could be a good late-round option at catcher for batting average leagues.
Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.
