Did Aaron Hicks take a shot at the Twins after getting DFA’d by Yankees

It wasn’t long ago that Aaron Hicks seemed like he might be a big part of the future for the Minnesota Twins. Things changed, though, and having Hicks as part of the team’s core never ended up panning out. 

Something else that didn’t end up panning out was his career after Minnesota, or at least his next stop in it. After his time with the Twins came to an end, Hicks headed to the Bronx where he hoped might be able to do for the New York Yankees what he couldn’t for the Twins.

Turns out that didn’t work as planned either. Perhaps the third time will be the charms for Hicks. He’ll need that third shot at being a critical piece of a team’s lineup after the Yankees finally cut bait on him and his struggles. 

On Saturday the Yankees made it official, DFA’ing Aaron Hicks and ending his career in the Bronx. 

Aaron Hicks praises time with Yankees after getting DFA’d

For his part, Hicks took the high road in a rather heartbreaking way that also could be taken as a shot at Minnesota.

Hicks might not be exactly taking a swipe at the Twins there, but it’s hard to not feel a little slighted. Hicks’ career with the Yankees wasn’t exactly the sort of thing that gets you a bust in the outfield memorial at Yankee Stadium, and he’s fresh off getting cut by the team. Yet, his time spent in the Bronx clearly meant more to him than the years he spent developing with the Twins which is both understandable but also hard to not feel a little hurt by. 

Hicks started his career in Minnesota as the teams first round draft pick in 2008. He’d spend the first 8 years of his career with the Twins, starting in the farm system before being called up and hailed as the potential next capital-G Guy for Minnesota.

Then again, the Twins moved on from Hicks rather than the other way around. Minnesota traded him in what ended up being a forgettable deal during the dark days of the mid-2010s. The move did open a path for Byron Buxton to become the franchise star, which is a trade no Twins fan is going to argue with.

So are we surprised Hicks said this? Should we even be bothered by it? 

One question might be if there’s a potential reunion in the future. It’s unlikely, especially since the Twins need to find bullpen help and hot bats for a sluggish offense before it thinks about reuniting with Hicks, but that would certainly be burying the hatchet sort of move. 

Rather, Hicks will likely get a shot somewhere else in the league and rightfully so. Even if it stings a little to hear him rave about the Yankees even after they released him, Twins fans can’t argue that the version of Hicks we all got glimpses of could help just about any lineup in the league. 

Perhaps this will be a Joey Gallo-type situation where a once promising piece of the Yankees lineup gets jettisoned and then catches on with a fury somewhere else. Hicks deserves that, and also deserves more than a career highlight being looking back at so-so days with a team that cut him loose.