You’d be forgiven for thinking, back in early April, that the Yankees were going to have an elite defense in the outfield. After all, although Aaron Hicks was no longer an above-average center fielder, he was flanked on one side by two-time Gold Glove recipient Joey Gallo and on the other by annual Gold Glove finalist and 2021 Fielding Bible Award winner Aaron Judge.
And then, the season began, and the exact opposite happened: the team’s outfield defense became an issue. Gallo took his problems at the plate into the outfield with him, while Hicks quickly put himself on track for the worst season of his career, at least according to Defensive Runs Saved and UZR/150 (Outs Above Average was more optimistic, but only slightly).