TEMPE, Ariz. — When the Angels signed outfielder Aaron Hicks in early February, he created a bit of a stir by telling reporters that he was going to be an everyday player.
The Angels, it turns out, had never told Hicks or his agent that. Hicks was simply speaking from years of experience and voicing his plan to play his way into that role.
“If you make yourself feel like you’re a bench player, you’re going to be a bench player,” Hicks said this week. “Obviously, I want to work my way into playing every single day. But, you know, whenever my name is called, I’ll be ready to go.”
Hicks is doing all he can this spring. Through his first 29 plate appearances, Hicks was 8 for 21 (.381) with eight walks.
Hicks said he’s been feeling good because he’s still sticking to the mechanical changes the Baltimore Orioles suggested last season, reviving his stalled career.
Hicks, 34, signed a seven-year, $70 million extension with the New. York Yankees in February 2019. It came on the heels of his best season, when Hicks hit 27 homers with an .833 OPS in 2018.
Ever since then, though, Hicks had been declining, to the point that the Yankees released him last May, when he was hitting .188. The Yankees still owed Hicks more than $27 million through the 2024 season.
The Orioles, who had a vacancy because they’d just lost Cedric Mullins to an injury, picked up Hicks, with the Yankees still paying the bulk of his salary.
Hicks hit .275 with seven homers and an .806 OPS over 236 plate appearances with the Orioles. He had a .381 on-base percentage.
“When I got to Baltimore, they already had a plan for me,” Hicks said. “They figured out what made me click and had certain drills that got me the results I was getting, and a lot of those are still going today.”
Part of his value to the Angels is that he’s a switch hitter who has a career .758 OPS against lefties. Last season he had a .970 OPS against lefties. That makes him the perfect platoon…
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