Welcome back to Yankees Twitter Reacts, my column filled with the best and worst takes, funniest tweets, reactions to Yankees news, and everything in between from our beloved Yankees Twitter. I want this to be as fan interactive as possible, so remember to hashtag #BPYankeesTwitter or tag me at @T_Danks_to join the conversation and submit the best and worst tweets of the week!
Happy March, Yanks fans! By the end of the month, we’ll be watching Yankees games that matter – and that’s something to be excited about. Yankees Twitter can certainly feel that excitement, between Aaron Hicks‘ extension and Bryce Harper‘s record-breaking contract with the Phillies, here is this week’s edition of Yankees Twitter Reacts.
Check out last week’s breakdown in case you missed it.
NEWS OF THE WEEK – AARON HICKS SIGNS EXTENSION
Less than two weeks removed from the Luis Severino extension, the Yankees locked up Aaron Hicks by signing him to a 7-year, $70 million extension. The seven year contract will start this year for Hicks, meaning he will be in pinstripes through 2025.
Hicks was an integral part of the Yankees last season, appearing in 137 games and batting .248 with 27 home runs and 79 RBI’s (both career highs). Over the past two seasons, Hicks boasted an impressive 8.2 fWAR, which ranked third among AL centerfielders (behind Mike Trout and Tommy Pham). It was certainly a good value signing for the Yankees, as $10 million per year is cheap for a player of Hicks’ caliber. And as Brian Cashman said, the Yankees are betting on Hicks for the long term.
Aaron Hicks has agreed to a 7-year, $70M extension with the Yankees. The team will announce the extension later today.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) February 25, 2019
YANKEES TWITTER REACTS TO HICKS’ EXTENSION
Yankees are very smart to locking up their young players. This is where the Manny/Harper money is going to. Bentances is next. Money spent smart. #yankees #aaronhicks
— Yankees_N_More (@13anonpsycho) February 25, 2019
Aaron Hicks is one of the most underrated players in the entire MLB & only paying him an AAV of $10 million for 7 years is an absolute steal for the #Yankees.
— Tyler Talks Sports (@Sports_Talker1) February 26, 2019
Aaron Hicks signed a new contract, you say?
I've been looking for a reason to share one of my favorite back pages. pic.twitter.com/iFK2puZcdj
— Joe Manniello (@joe_manniello) February 25, 2019
Aaron Hicks is a very good player and in an open market would probably get more than $10mil/year. If years 6 & 7 don't work out, it's easy for the #Yankees to eat that money.
— JJ (@JJFromTheBronx) February 25, 2019
Better late than never! pic.twitter.com/BvZwfIr6Cl
— Andrew (@Andrew_Rotondi) February 26, 2019
BRYCE HARPER SIGNS RECORD-BREAKING DEAL WITH PHILLIES
On Thursday, Twitter erupted after Bryce Harper (finally) signed a massive 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies, passing our very own Giancarlo Stanton as the biggest guaranteed contract in MLB history. This comes a little over a week after Machado signed his massive 10-year, $300 million deal. As it turns out, despite the wait, both guys got PAID.
Here’s how Yankees Twitter reacted to the deal:
Bryce Harper to the Phillies on a 13-year, $330 million deal with no opt-outs.
Yankees Twitter….. thoughts? pic.twitter.com/AEl990bZut
— The BP Show (@YankeesPodcast) February 28, 2019
A ridiculously overrated player to an insane contract. Enjoy Philly…
— JNA5993 (@JasonA525) February 28, 2019
Glad the drama is over. As much as Yankee fans wanted him, they’d never pay him that money. Good for him for getting his pay day.
— Bronx Bombers (@yankeesguy93) February 28, 2019
I wanted him, who wouldn’t, but not anywhere near that price. Fact is Yankees weren’t even considering it. If all goes well, our guys can do it this year.
— TeeW (@twalt2468) March 1, 2019
— victoria fitzsimmons (@yankegrl22) February 28, 2019
— Yves Saint Horchata🇭🇳 (@Tweets_n_Gravy) February 28, 2019
Good for him. Can't blame him for getting the $$$. Glad we didn't pay for him. Don't need him or Manny to win it all. We have the tools in place with maybe some more pitching down the road. We all know you can never have enough pitching!
— Greg F. 🇺🇸 (@FulginitiGreg) March 1, 2019
BRYCE HARPER SHOULD BE A YANKEE….HE WAS MADE FOR YANKEE STADIUM BUT….George’s kids would rather pad their pocket books than add a ONCE IN A GENERATION player to the roster…oh well I guess he will be wearing a Phillies hat when he’s inducted to the hall
— Lord Kevin (@Kevinsworld3) March 1, 2019
Yankees Phillies World Series 2020
— Nick Johnson (@_nickjohnson_34) February 28, 2019
TULO-MADNESS
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few days, you know that Troy Tulowitzki is off to a hot start this spring. In his first at bat in pinstripes, Tulo went yard for an opposite field solo shot in the first inning. Three days later, Tulo hit another first inning bomb, this time a three-run dinger.
This sent Yankees Twitter into a frenzy. It is impossible not to root for Tulo, who missed the entire 2018 season due to injury and was discarded by the Blue Jays. Tulo has a chance to revive his career in pinstripes, and the Yankees could sure use it. With Didi Gregorius out for at least a few months, Tulo can play a pivotal role.
Here’s how Yankees Twitter reacted to the Tulo-madness.
Cue the Yankees twitter meltdown when @troytulo hits a homer on his first at-bat in Pinstripes. @BronxPinstripes #BPYankeesTwitter @T_Danks_ pic.twitter.com/s1Hoh6G57y
— Geoffrey Muller (@gmuller2112) February 25, 2019
TULO WINDOWWWWW.
TULO WALL. pic.twitter.com/O8qnOcJibI— Jake Montgomery (@JakeM0NTGOMERY) February 28, 2019
Troy Tulowitzki revenge tour 2k19 https://t.co/dNtYoxteXm
— Mel Mastrantonio (@melmastro18) February 28, 2019
I’m wildly concerned I’m going to get sucked into Tulo Madness but I can’t do anything about it. He’s electric.
— Eric Hubbs (@BarstoolHubbs) February 28, 2019
Not to overreact or anything but Tulo is on pace to hit a homerun in every game he plays
— The Pinstripe Empire (@PinstripEmpire) February 28, 2019
Tulo is bout make me and others who wanted Machado to stfu and sit damn pic.twitter.com/FRwtG0MBxM
— Ču$$ingFan🤬🤬🤬 (@JulienTorres8) February 28, 2019
I loved players who play with something to prove! Go TULO
— William Gardner (@Wonkabar3000) February 28, 2019
AND TULO TAKES STRO YARD.
COME ON. pic.twitter.com/vLbgPoUHEf
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) February 25, 2019
WORST TAKE OF THE WEEK
This analysis of the Yankees by @ColinCowherd is just awful in so many ways. Where to begin? pic.twitter.com/H33ZTJiMsV
— Justin Diamond (@justinddiamond) February 26, 2019
If you follow me on Twitter, you saw this one coming. Just want to make it clear: it is Colin Cowherd with the bad take, not Justin. Listening to this upset me because I have always been a huge Cowherd fan. To paraphrase the clip, Cowherd says the Yankees lack “complementary players” and don’t have “the guy that sacrifices.”
This was either a softball question to ARod that he whiffed on, or it proves Cowherd knows nothing about the Yankees. Sure, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are big-time stars, but what about Gleyber Torres? Didi Gregorius? Miguel Andujar? DJ LeMahieu? Are those not complementary players? And has anyone sacrificed more over the past few years than Brett Gardner? It’s silly to say the Yankees lack those pieces, because quite frankly they are full of them – even a Red Sox fan would admit that.
BEST TAKE OF THE WEEK
Who would you rather have?
Aaron Hicks – 7/$70
Bryce Harper – 13/$330If you say Harper, ask yourself this: Is Harper really worth double the length of contract, and nearly 5 times the amount of money?
In my opinion, hell no.
— Bronx Bombers (@yankeesguy93) February 28, 2019
Before I go any further, I am not saying Aaron Hicks is better than Bryce Harper. Harper is a world class talent and I would have LOVED to see him in pinstripes. What I want to discuss here is value.
As aforementioned in this blog, Hicks had a 8.2 fWAR over the past two seasons. In the same time frame, Bryce Harper had 8.3. In 2018 alone, Hicks had 4.9 fWAR while Harper had 3.5. Of course there are stats out there to support Harper’s case, but the notion is: paying 7/$70M for Hicks is far more valuable than 13/$330M for Harper.
FUNNIEST TWEET OF THE WEEK
https://twitter.com/mrevandaniel/status/1100867881871511552
Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Yankees Twitter Reacts! Remember, if you see something that you think deserves to be in the column next week, be sure to hashtag #BPYankeesTwitter or tag me on Twitter @T_Danks_ ! And be sure to listen to the most recent episode of The Bronx Pinstripes Show: http://smarturl.it/YankeesPodcast
