HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS? HICKS IS READY TO PLAY!

There is one less question mark in the Yankees outfield WHEN the season starts again. Yes, I am sticking with WHEN and not IF. The outfield has worried me for awhile now....but we got some good news over the weekend and we need all the good news we can get right now.

So HERE it is....Aaron Hicks will be ready to play when the season starts. At least there is some good news with one of the Aaron's. Hopefully we get some soon with Aaron Judge but, in the mean time we know that Hicks will be good to go. Hicks posted a recent batting practice on Instagram, nice to see Hicks in action. It's been too long.

Hicks says he has been hitting for two months now trying to get his rhythm back again. Looks good so far, and the Yankees will definitely benefit from having his switch-hitting bat back in the lineup when games do start. The hitting will come in time, the arm strength will be the main concern. Coming back from Tommy John takes time, and right now he says he is at about 80%.

"I am doing really well. I am up to 160 feet throwing, taking BP on the field and doing defensive work. I get better and better every day and every week. The throwing gets stronger. It is definitely coming. It comes in its own ways when it wants to. I am not too far off. I will throw to bases coming up here pretty soon, think next week. My arm feels great."

All teams will already strategize the safety and wellness of their players as they move into the season, the Yankees may be extra cautious with Hicks moving forward. Luckily they have Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman they can also use as needed. They can also use Giancarlo Stanton in right or left if they do not use him as DH. We'll see what happens, especially as Aaron Judge progresses (hopefully). It's good news we needed to hear as we inch closer to baseball.

So now it's just a waiting game. Like us, Hicks will have to wait to hear when it is time to play again. We may not know when YET, but at least we know he will be ready. It's a small piece of good news to start the work week, hopefully more to come soon.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj