Yankees Have Extremely Difficult Decision to Make With Aaron Hicks' Possible ALCS Roster Move

How can adding one of the best defensive outfielders in the game with the power to hit 25 home runs in a season possibly be bad for a team in the ALCS?

The New York Yankees have quite the dilemma on their hands, as injured outfielder Aaron Hicks, in the first year of a seven-year deal, announced that he's healthy enough to play in the ALCS against either the Houston Astros or Tampa Bay Rays.

In just 59 games this season, Hicks hit .235 with 12 home runs and 36 RBI while providing his usually excellent defense.

With Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Brett Gardner taking up the outfield spots, putting Hicks in center would likely move Stanton to DH, Edwin Encarnacion to first, and DJ LeMahieu to third, taking Gio Urshela's red-hot bat out of the lineup. Unless he's willing to accept a backup role, Aaron Boone shouldn't try to upset the apple cart.

On the other hand, Hicks is an above-average outfielder that the Yankees are committed to long term. You don't think that he is going to feel slighted by the organization if they choose to leave Cameron Maybin on the roster over him when he's healthy?

Once Game 5 of the Rays-Astros series is decided, Boone and the Yankees will have a significant and potentially unsettling decision to make with Hicks.