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Aaron Hicks to DL, Billy McKinney called up from Scranton

The injury bug has struck the Bombers again. Aaron Hicks is headed to the 10-day DL with a right intercostal muscle strain just one game into the 2018 season. He will join fellow outfielders Clint Frazier and Jacoby Ellsbury on the DL, as well as first baseman Greg Bird. Billy McKinney has been recalled from Triple-A to replace him on the active roster.

Hicks broke out in a big way in 2017 slashing .266/.372/.475 and putting up an fWAR of 3.3, good for fifth-best on the team. With his strong showing and Ellsbury’s rapid decline, he came into the 2018 season all but guaranteed the starting CF job. However, he has had trouble staying on the field in the past. In his five-year career, he has never played more than 123 games in a season. Last year he played just 88 games due to a series of oblique strains.

For McKinney, this is an earlier introduction to the big leagues than he or the organization expected. With five outfielders and two first basemen ahead of him in the depth charts entering Spring Training, he looked likely to be a midseason trade candidate. Though McKinney got off to a slow start after coming over in the Aroldis Chapman trade in 2016, he showed good progress in 2017. He hit .277/.338/.483 between Double-A and Triple-A, with a career-high 16 homers. McKinney now looks to impress the Yankees brass and prove he deserves a roster spot even after the rest of the team starts getting healthy.