The NY Yankees #upgraded their outfield by trading catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins for center fielder Aaron Hicks earlier today. Hicks is a switch-hitter with a rifle of an arm in the outfield, even clocking 100mph catching players sneaking to home plate, and has some speed on the base path. He was a top prospect in the minor league system, but didn’t make waves in the Majors (yet). He did improve in 2015 hitting .256 with 11 home runs, and 33 RBI’s to go along with 13 stolen bases. Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman indicated that he is easily comparable to Chris Young (quote below), who will be waived in free agency shortly.

“At the very least he provides us with what we were getting from Chris Young for the past two years, and at the very most, he provides us with a lot of flexibility depending on how the winter transpires,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said of Hicks. “We believe he’s an everyday player.” – espn

Yankees’ trusty left fielder Brett Gardner may be the next to go; after a solid start and All-Star appearance, he went through a serious slump down the stretch last season. The Yankees have center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for the next five years, which means Hicks will move to right or left-field. #Note Hicks is also a lifetime fan of Yankee HOFer Dave Winfield, and wore his #32 for the Twins. What number do you think he will take in a Yankees fit?

Although John Ryan Murphy (pic above) put up solid numbers for the Yankees, hitting .277 with three home runs and 14 RBI’s in 67 games, they have two solid backup catchers already with Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez. Brian McCann is still doing quite well, and will have to mentor one of these two prospects.