Hicks > McKenna

[Can_of_corn]

8 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Depends on how he plays the rest of year.   If he hits well and plays the defense I have been watching he might.  Of course he is 33 but he does not have the cancer hanging over him.

The correct answer is No, Hicks would not get that contract offer.

[DEOriolesfan]

9 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Also not sure if this goes without saying but McKenna can be optioned. We may need his spot on the 40 man for other purposes but it is possible that we could keep both.

I've come to the realization that McKenna is here to stay. 

[Aristotelian]

Ask yourself this: if Hicks had 19 decent AB's for another team, would you trade anything significant for him? He is a "cash considerations" guy. 

[wildcard]

Just now, Aristotelian said:

Ask yourself this: if Hicks had 19 decent AB's for another team, would you trade anything significant for him? He is a "cash considerations" guy. 

Not now.  But if he has 200 PA by the deadline and is hitting well Elias might get good offers.

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, wildcard said:

So you are saying the Elias is that good at trading that he fleeced the Astros and Rays.   If he is that good he could get a good deal for Hicks.

No, I’m saying it’s an apples to oranges comp.  You are trying to say it’s the same but you are factually wrong. 

The offense plays more and Mancini had/has that clear advantage.

Im not saying you can’t trade these guys but you aren’t getting any real value in return and in a contending year, what they give you on the field is more important what they bring in return.

[Aristotelian]

13 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Not now.  But if he has 200 PA by the deadline and is hitting well Elias might get good offers.

A rental deal for a 4th outfielder? Is there any comp for that? What did we give up for Alejandro De Aza? 

[wildcard]

12 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

A rental deal for a 4th outfielder? Is there any comp for that? What did we give up for Alejandro De Aza? 

Who says he would be a 4th OFer for the team trading for him?

He is not a 4th OFer for the O's right now.  He is starting most every game.

Edited June 9, 2023 by wildcard

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, wildcard said:

Who says he would be a 4th OFer for the team trading for him?

Is a contender going to look to make him a starter?

[wildcard]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Is a contender going to look to make him a starter?

The O's are a contender right now.  And right now he is starting for the O's.

[Aristotelian]

8 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Who says he would be a 4th OFer for the team trading for him?

He is not a 4th OFer for the O's right now.  He is starting most every game.

He is the 4th OF. Mullins happens to be injured but he is still on the team. He is still hitting .647 for the year. Hicks will go back to the bench when Mullins comes back. I highly doubt he gets 200 AB's for the O's. If that happens, something has gone wrong. 

He was available for the minimum as a free agent a week ago. His value is not going to change that much overnight. I am excited by what he is doing so far but he is not going to be flipped for a big return. Again, ask yourself what the Orioles would trade for him if he were on another team? 

[wildcard]

34 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

He is the 4th OF. Mullins happens to be injured but he is still on the team. He is still hitting .647 for the year. Hicks will go back to the bench when Mullins comes back. I highly doubt he gets 200 AB's for the O's. If that happens, something has gone wrong. 

He was available for the minimum as a free agent a week ago. His value is not going to change that much overnight. I am excited by what he is doing so far but he is not going to be flipped for a big return. Again, ask yourself what the Orioles would trade for him if he were on another team? 

You keep talking about now when the trade deadline is 7 weeks away.

[DrungoHazewood]

Since 2019 Aaron Hicks has a .697 OPS and Statcast has him as a -12 fielder. He's a fourth or fifth outfielder who's had a very solid 22 plate appearances. His rest-of-season projections are something like .225/.320/.355 with below-average defense.

Nobody is trading anything for him, and nobody is starting him unless they don't have another choice. It's very much an open question as to whether he's better than McKenna in 2023.

[DrungoHazewood]

3 minutes ago, wildcard said:

You keep talking about now when the trade deadline is 7 weeks away.

When the most likely case is that Aaron Hicks will not be playing regularly, and if he is he'll be OPSing about .700 for the Orioles.

[LA2]

On 6/9/2023 at 5:49 AM, Moose Milligan said:

I was surprised to see the esteemed @Frobby authoring such a scorching hot take.

It's not that I'm a huge McKenna fan (I'm not, and I think there's a good chance we miss the playoffs by one game, and when that happens we'll all look at his dropped fly ball) but this is a simple decision based on one big factor for me; Hicks is 33, McKenna is 26.  

There's a lot to like about Hicks, but this is an extreme small sample size and I'm sure the love affair that this board is having with him will cool whenever his bat does.  At that point, I believe the differences between him and McKenna will be largely imperceptible and debating them will be the equivalent of arguing about which item off the menu at Taco Bell is less likely to give you diarrhea.  But then again, this is the OH and this is what we do.

If someone wants to render McKenna as kind of a doofus who doesn't always have his head in the game and is prone to making bad decisions on the basepaths, you won't get an argument from me there.  Hicks probably has him beat in that department.  But I don't believe this is some easy, clear cut decision.

I said it before earlier this week, I'll say it again:  This place is really weird.  There was such a backlash about the Hicks signing (even though it made complete sense) that I think we all forgot about Adam Frazier for a second.  And he's played better than anyone's expected in an extremely small sample size and now there's this burgeoning love affair to keep him as a 4th outfielder.  

 

 

I was for the Hicks acquisition from the beginning, and stated it plainly here. It was an incredible bargain and the right time (the Mullins injury), even if his performance fades later in the season. Versatile switch-hitter w LOTS of pennant-race and postseason experience who I'm sure will do his best to stick it to the Yankees while they pay him tens of millions to do it .

His high walk totals reinforce the current Orioles approach and also ensure that he's not an absolute hole in the lineup. Plays all of the OF positions smoothly--I trust him a lot more out there than McKenna. 

I can't imagine that it was easy to persuade the Ys to send us a long-time promising, but failed player of theirs whose many-seasons-simmering resentment may well unload on them in crucial series. Kudos to Elias for pulling it off--at an extremely negligible cost.

Edited June 11, 2023 by LA2

[Moose Milligan]

6 minutes ago, LA2 said:

I was for the Hicks acquisition from the beginning, and stated it plainly here. It was an incredible bargain and the right time (the Mullins injury), even if his performance fades later in the season. Versatile switch-hitter w LOTS of pennant-race and postseason experience who I'm sure will do his best to stick it to the Yankees while they pay him tens of millions. His high walk totals further the current Orioles approach and also ensure that he's not an absolute hole in the lineup. Plays all of the OF positions smoothly--I trust him a lot more out there than McKenna. 

Yeah, I didn't think it was a bad signing to begin with.  I didn't think it was a GREAT signing either, but the logic made sense.  

Would love it if he's able to come up with a big moment or two against the Yankees while they're paying him.  That would be a big highlight, for sure.