For a team that won 92 games and earned a Wild Card berth last season, the Yankees somewhat paradoxically had numerous roster construction issues to closely examine this past offseason. Some were addressed (albeit not necessarily in the manner the fans were hoping for), but one of the areas where the team decided to stick with the status quo was with their starting centerfielder.
The hope and the plan, of course, is that Aaron Hicks returns to the form he displayed over the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Over that stretch, Hicks produced 8.2 bWAR with a 125 OPS+ in 942 PA.