In a stunning move, the Minnesota Twins announced today that they have traded outfielder Aaron Hicks to the New York Yankees in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy.

 

The move comes one day after the Twins trimmed down their catching depth by dealing Chris Herrmann to Arizona.Hicks, a 26-year-old former first-round draft pick, enjoyed a breakout season of sorts in 2015, hitting .256/.323/.398 with 11 home runs in 97 games for Minnesota after struggling mightily in 2013 and 2014.

 

Murphy, a 24-year-old former second-round pick, has served as a backup catcher in New York for parts of the last three seasons and hit .277/.327/.406 this year with three homers and 14 RBI in 67 games. He threw out eight base runners on 29 steal attempts (28 percent). The righty-swinging Murphy is a career .277/.311/.374 hitter in the minors.

 

The trade has wide-reaching implications for both teams. The Yankees now seem less likely to bring back free agent outfielder Chris Young, and the acquisition of Hicks might increase the likelihood of a rumored Brett Gardner trade.

 

For the Twins, trading Hicks helps clear out a logjam in the outfield and opens the door for Miguel Sano to potentially take over a corner spot with Korean import Byung-ho Park entering the fold as DH.

 

Murphy will likely share time with Kurt Suzuki behind the plate in 2016 and could hypothetically be a long-term solution at catcher, although his track record doesn't necessarily suggest he'll hit enough to be an impact starter at the position.

 

You may remember Murphy as the guy who sunk the Twins with a three-run homer off Glen Perkins at Target Field in July.

 

 

What do you think? Did the Terry Ryan sell low on the talented Hicks?

 

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At least it's not a boring, wait-for-something-to-happen off-season

What the hell is going on? Who cares about OF defense in Target Field?

 

Your starting CF for 2016 . . . Shane Robinson? Now, it had better be Buxton. Good lord.

I don't know how I feel about this yet. I've always been a big fan of Hicks, but we did get a catcher we badly need.

 

Will Murphy been the solution long time? Maybe.

 

Either way so far Ryan is showing he wants to make moves this offseason...and its only November!

Selling low would have been after last season. I think he sold high on Aaron Hicks. He's going to be a Super Two next year and start making more money through arbitration. He still doesn't hit great lefthanded and he's going to get passed up by Buxton so he'd be rotting on the bench soon enough.

 

Get a mediocre starting catcher for a mediocre starting CF, nice trade balancing the roster.

I'd say it's a decent trade. Could be selling low on Hicks but with the young talent they have at OF he's probably the guy they needed to deal.  Murphy has potential to fill the void at C.  Time will tell....

Seems about fair.  I like Hicks but I'm not sure he has enough bat to play a corner and CF is obviously Buxton's for the long term.  And, even with his break out last year, his bat hasn't been ideal. 

 

Hicks did, esp in the second half, show an ability to get on base which the team generally lacks and in the short term, that might hurt.  I never looked at Murphy from the Yanks, always thought they'd try and target Sanchez instead.

 

Selling low would have been after last season. I think he sold high on Aaron Hicks. He's going to be a Super Two next year and start making more money through arbitration.

Actually Hicks will be arb eligible by normal means next winter, not Super 2.  (He's already past 2 years service.)

I told you this was happening.  Can I get some credit now?

Hmmm ... that's all I've got for now.

Losing Hicks is no surprise, but in the past few days we've traded Herrmann and Hicks for Murphy (a Herrmann type player) and Palka. I don't feel like we've lost anything special (I'd sort of hoped for more in return for Hicks, but whatever), but rather than gaining anything, we're shuffling players. Sure we need catching, but we've changed nothing for the better. I don't feel like we really need another first baseman, MiL or not. Why not trade a few players together for a better catcher if we want to focus on that issue?

I'm intrigued, not the splash I was hoping for at catcher but it also means we can truly consider keeping Plouffe.  A quick random lineup gives me the following by midseason.

 

Buxton

Dozier

Mauer

Sano

Byung Ho

Plouffe

Rosario

Escobar

Murphy

 

Figure in a bench of Kepler, Santana, Arcia/Vargas, and Suzuki.  That ain't half bad.  Please be kind, this was off the cuff with very little thought put into it.  

I am not a fan of this deal. I like Hicks future, and I'm underwhelmed by Murphy.

 

I hope he hits more than I think he will.

Looks like Ryan is going after the Astros/Jays model K's and HR and not the Royals model.

Feels a bit like a Kevin McHale deal. The guy has one big game against us so we overpay and ignore the rest of his body of work. Good point is we did get a catcher who (hopefully) turns into the long-term solution.

Murphy actually resembles Herrmann a little bit.  Played a little 3B too his first couple years in the minors, although he's been a full-time catcher for 4 seasons now.

 

They both had a K rate spike at AAA/MLB, difference seems to be that Murphy's BABIP didn't crater in MLB (it actually spiked in 2015 to a career high since rookie ball).

I was hoping for a multiplayer deal that brought a C with higher upside. Not a bad trade but not what I wanted to see.

 

Hicks probably has more upside than Murphy. We needed a solid defensive catcher who can hit better than Suzuki and that's what we've gotten. I expect a Suzuki/Murphy platoon, at least to start the year.

This could have been selling high, but I feel like Hicks has more to offer. I liked what he did, and finally started coming around the last half of this year. I don't love this trade at all, unless I am missing something on this 3 year backup catcher. I hope this doesn't mean Sano will move to the outfield! Unless they really don't care about outfield defense, which was one aspect that hugely improved this past year

 

I am not a fan of this deal. I like Hicks future, and I'm underwhelmed by Murphy.

I hope he hits more than I think he will.

 

Murphy out-hit Hicks both of the last two seasons and he's 2 years younger than Hicks.

 

What the hell is going on? Who cares about OF defense in Target Field?

 

Your starting CF for 2016 . . . Shane Robinson? Now, it had better be Buxton. Good lord.

 

He'd better not crash and burn. 

Murphy looks like a Suzuki caliber bat with better defense. Not an all star but the potential to be a cheap, solid starter there for awhile. Far enough exchange for Hicks.

Man I hope Hicks turns into a superstar.  What a horrible trade this is.

I don't think this means our OF is set, and I certainly don't think it spells Sano in RF. I think this probably means we're going after Rasmus, or something like that.

I have been looking around online for information on Murphy. Anyone know how Murphy's reputation is with handling a pitching staff and framing pitches?  

Edited November 11, 201511 yr by Dbohnk

 

Feels a bit like a Kevin McHale deal. The guy has one big game against us so we overpay and ignore the rest of his body of work. Good point is we did get a catcher who (hopefully) turns into the long-term solution.

 

It's a Ryan Standard Operating Procedure. The best example off the top of my head was picking up Dusty Hughes because he confounded Mauer and Morneau. Hughes had like an ERA over 5. 

Hicks was expendable. This is a gamble but there isn't much out there as far as catchers. He's only 24 and has hit decently and apparently has played ok defense for the Yankees so it is worth a shot. At least TR is trying

I (kinda) like the move. This could be a very solid platoon, hopefully with a big emphasis on Murphy.

 

Kurt Suzuki

Vs. L .257

Vs. R.232

JR Murphy

Vs. L .266

Vs. R .289

 

While looking at Murphy's other splits he batted .308 in the second half... so I'm pretty optimistic. I certainly think the Twins could have done worse for help behind the plate.

Edited November 11, 201511 yr by T.C.

 

Man I hope Hicks turns into a superstar.  What a horrible trade this is.

WTF? 

 

I have been looking around online for information on Murphy. Anyone know how Murphy's reputation is with handling a pitching staff and framing pitching?  

 

Framing is better than Suzuki and MUCH better than Herrmmann

 

It's a Ryan Standard Operating Procedure. The best example off the top of my head was picking up Dusty Hughes because he confounded Mauer and Morneau. Hughes had like an ERA over 5. 

That was Bill Smith.