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  • Twins Trade Aaron Hicks To Yankees For Catcher

    Nick Nelson

    By Nick Nelson

    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.

    Image courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA Today

    Twins Video

    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.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBIKjhVcmzQ

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

    Nick is a co-founder of Twins Daily who's been writing about the team for more than 15 years.
    Follow Nick Nelson on Twitter: NickNelsonMN

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    Otto von Ballpark

    Otto von Ballpark 20,320

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

     

    unless I am missing something on this 3 year backup catcher.

    To be fair, Murphy's not really a "3 year backup catcher" -- looks like he was a September call-up in 2013,  was the backup for 2 months in 2014 when Cervelli was hurt, and got another September call-up late in 2014.

     

    He was the Yankees backup catcher for the entire 2015 season, however.  Got 43 starts, compared to Herrmann/Fryer's combined 39.

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    Jham

    Jham 2,495

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Personally, I've always said Hick's D is way overrated in CF.  Good corner guy, but struggles going back on balls and taking efficient routes, not as big a deal in left or right where the balls almost always tail toward the line.  He may take away some singles, and cut off a few balls to hold guys to singles, but his misplays are always doubles, triples or inside the park jobs.  No tears here.

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    beckmt

    beckmt 2,069

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I think a Rosario, Buxton, Kepler OF is a possibilty in about 2 years.  Rosario or Santana(have we forgotten about him) starts in center at the start of the year with Sano and other outfielder(Buxton(maybe)) or Span for a year or two.

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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted (edited)

     

    Um, really? I'm not a fan of this either, but why would you say that? So you can 'neener, neener' Ryan in a later thread?

    How about because I'm a fan of Hicks?  How about because I value outfield defense on a team lacking OF defense.  How about Hicks starting to work on his OBP? I'll take a .720 OPS from a 24 year old with quality defense on a team that lacks defense.

     

    Oh, and how about a person who always stresses not taking personal shots not take personal shots?  Although clearly it's allowed when defending Ryan as seen on the Ryan Swan Song thread.

    Edited by jimmer
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    gunnarthor

    gunnarthor 11,234

  • Old-Timey Member

    • Posted

    I liked HIcks but I think people are going a bit overboard here.  Defensive stats thought he was about average, although I think he looked better under the eye test.  He had a monster July last year but didn't hit much after that (OPS for Aug and Sep were .597 and .701).  It's doubtful that bat plays in a corner and the Twins have the best CF prospect in baseball ready to step in this season.

     

    Murphy isn't sexy but he's a solid enough catcher with more years of team control.  And it's probable that the Twins scouted him a bit in the EL and IL so have several years of reports on him.  Sure don't think the comparisons to Herrmann are fair.

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    dougkoebernick

    dougkoebernick 170

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    I think trading Hicks for a catcher is a good idea.  Hicks faded badly in September (224/321/367, 689 OPS) and projects out as a roughly 700 OPS guy and a strong defensive CF.  I don't know a lot about Murphy but he was least that good with the bat (better, actually) in limited appearances and is supposed to be strong defensively. This means Rosario stays and starts.  The interesting question is whether Buxton breaks camp as the CF or whether we go out and get a free agent. I'm willing to bet that Denard Span's phone is now ringing. He could play CF and lead off - two things we need - and let Buxton and Kepler develop at AAA.    

    That's an interesting thought on Span. 

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    Squirrel

    Squirrel 37,605

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

     

    How about because I'm a fan of Hicks?  How about because I value outfield defense on a team lacking OF defense.  How about Hicks starting to work on his OBP? I'll take a .720 OPS from a 24 year old with quality defense on a team that lacks defense.

     

    Oh, and how about a person who always stresses not taking personal shots not take personal shots?  Although clearly it's allowed when defending Ryan as seen on the Ryan Swan Song thread.

    Then why don't you say all that instead of saying you hope for the Twins to be on the bad side of this by making a bit of a pot shot? And for the record, I'm not a fan of Ryan's and haven't been for a very long time. And, as I said, I'm not a fan of this trade, either. But I think it's a bit of a poor sports kind of comment to make even so.

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    Darius

    Darius 2,741

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I was relatively high on Hicks going into this year.  Hopefully I'm wrong, but I fully expect to take a step offensively (was saying this before the trade) and this move look absolutely awful.

     

    Digging into this guy a little more, I hate this move.  

     

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    formerly33

    formerly33 2,925

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

     

    How about because I'm a fan of Hicks?  How about because I value outfield defense on a team lacking OF defense.  How about Hicks starting to work on his OBP? I'll take a .720 OPS from a 24 year old with quality defense on a team that lacks defense.

     

    Oh, and how about a person who always stresses not taking personal shots not take personal shots?  Although clearly it's allowed when defending Ryan as seen on the Ryan Swan Song thread.

    Heh...I don't think it was a personal shot. You weren't being too clear in the original post. If you were simply wishing Hicks the best of luck, you could have said so right from the start.

     

    But if you want to discuss moderation, head over to the "Questions About MinnCentric" forum.

     

    Back OT, I don't think Murphy's an improvement over Herrmann. I certainly hope he is.

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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted

     

    I read it more as a fan/supported of Hicks, rather than a dig at TR.  Why shouldn't we wish Hicks well?

    I also wished Hermann well, and in the thread about trading Plouffe, I said I hope he does well whether he stays with us or not. Nothing wrong with hoping guys succeed even if they leave the team. Or maybe there is for some.

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    dougkoebernick

    dougkoebernick 170

  • Provisional Member

    • Posted

     

    For the Twins, gotta hope that Hick's recent turnaround was a mirage and not a trend. At least Murphy is young with some room to develop. I was dreaming of a Rosario-Buxton-Hicks OF, but now I'll have to start dreaming of a Rosario-Buxton-Kepler OF instead!

    I remember watching his stats go down, down, down after he got everyone excited in July/August. In September/October he was less than special. I hope for his sake that he is more of the July/August Hicks in the future but I just wasn't sold on that happening and preferred Rosario over Hicks.

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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted

     

    Then why don't you say all that instead of saying you hope for the Twins to be on the bad side of this by making a bit of a pot shot? And for the record, I'm not a fan of Ryan's and haven't been for a very long time. And, as I said, I'm not a fan of this trade, either. But I think it's a bit of a poor sports kind of comment to make even so.

    I said I hope Hicks becomes a superstar AND that it is a bad trade.  I didn't say I hope the Twins end up on the bad side of this trade.  You don't think I hope the catcher ends up good?  That would help us, no?

     

    I wished the guy well, and I think it's a bad trade.  People who want to read into what was said only have themselves to blame for misunderstanding and/or maybe they are just eager to get into it with other posters.  I am not responsible for either.

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    Squirrel

    Squirrel 37,605

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    • Posted

     

    I said I hope Hicks becomes a superstar AND that it is a bad trade.  I didn't say I hope the Twins end up on the bad side of this trade.  You don't think I hope the catcher ends up good?  That would help us, no?

     

    I wished the guy well, and I think it's a bad trade.  People who want to read into what was said only have themselves to blame for misunderstanding and/or maybe they are just eager to get into it with other posters.  I am not responsible for either.

    Well, I apologize then for reacting as I did. It just didn't read that way when I first read the comment in context with everything else happening around us. I take it back then. I'm sorry. And thank you for clarifying.

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    Pardon My Dinger

    Pardon My Dinger 5,159

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    • Posted

    Now that the dust has settled somewhat, and we're all ready to throw dirt on Murphy apparently, it seems clear that Murphy isn't our catching upgrade. He's an upgrade over Hermann, and maybe there's a smidge of a chance that he fits into our future. I don't think we're done looking for an everyday catcher. I think we're in for a lot of big moves. Which is pretty weird.  

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    dbminn

    dbminn 1,849

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    • Posted

     

    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?  

     

    According to BP (by way of FanGraphs), he's supposed to be an above average pitch framer. By last year's StatCorner data, he's neutral.

     

    RE: Suzuki and pitch framing. In 2014, he was bad. By 2015 data, he was neutral.

     

    http://www.statcorner.com/CatcherReport.php

     

     

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    jimmer

    jimmer 9,961

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    • Posted

     

    Heh...I don't think it was a personal shot. You weren't being too clear in the original post. If you were simply wishing Hicks the best of luck, you could have said so right from the start.

    That's exactly what I did in the first sentence. I said I hope he becomes a superstar.  The second sentence said I thought the trade was bad.  I am not responsible for people reading into two simple sentences.

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    Squirrel

    Squirrel 37,605

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    • Posted

     

    Now that the dust has settled somewhat, and we're all ready to throw dirt on Murphy apparently, it seems clear that Murphy isn't our catching upgrade. He's an upgrade over Hermann, and maybe there's a smidge of a chance that he fits into our future. I don't think we're done looking for an everyday catcher. I think we're in for a lot of big moves. Which is pretty weird.  

    Yeah ... this is why I'm not a fan of this move. To me it's not the upgrade we need. And what I thought was a pretty solid/stable outfield going into the off-season seems anything but after everything so far. But ... it's a long way to next season, and lots more time to let it fall into place.

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