Yankees place Aaron Hicks on injured list with flexor strain

The injury bug returned to bite the Yankees last night, although one could make the argument it never left. The team announced today that center fielder Aaron Hicks landed on the 10-day IL with a flexor strain in his right elbow. He suffered the injury while making a throw in the top of the sixth inning. As a corresponding move. the club activated J.A. Happ from the paternity list.

Hicks, 29, hit .235/.325/.443 with 12 home runs (101 wRC+) over 255 plate appearances. He missed the start of the season after suffering a back injury during spring training. Hicks had been in a slump of late—91 wRC+ over his last 15 games—but he provided upside at the plate and in the field.

After yesterday’s game, Hicks told the media that he only felt the pain when he threw the ball. He also mentioned that it’s the first time he ever experienced discomfort in his elbow.

The Yankees will roll with Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, and Cameron Maybin for their outfield. Activating Happ was the logical move for today, and the club could always make more roster adjustments tomorrow. Clint Frazier represents an obvious decision, but the Yankees have passed him over at every opportunity of late.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Hicks said of the injury outbreak. “You know, guys come back, somebody else goes down. It’s tough, but we’ve been dealing with it this whole year and we’ve been able to still win. It’s a next man up kind of thing.”