It’s one thing to know the end is coming, it’s another to wake up to the ending via tweet. Aaron Hicks has officially been designated for assignment, ending an eight-year relationship that saw him among the best center fielders in the game before declining into a player without a role. Even after warming up in the past week or so, Hicks owns a 49 wRC+ and -0.5 fWAR on the season.
It’s a move that we’ve seen all too often over the past few seasons. Hicks joins a club of players whose ineffectiveness clogged up a roster spot while the relationship between the player and the club appeared to deteriorate, leading to an inevitable sub rosa dismissal.