NEW YORK _ Despite contributing in the AL Championship Series, Aaron Hicks could not avoid Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees center fielder will undergo reconstructive surgery to his right elbow on Oct. 30 in Los Angeles, a procedure that will keep him out for 8-10 months according to general manager Brian Cashman.
Masahiro Tanaka and Luke Voit have already had postseason medical procedures and are expected to be ready in time for spring training.
Speaking on Thursday, for the first time publicly since the Yankees' playoff elimination by the Houston Astros, Cashman said that Tanaka had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs in his pitching elbow.
Tanaka's ulnar collateral ligament remains "status quo" said Cashman, who more or less described the procedure as routine maintenance for the right-hander.
Voit, the slugging first baseman, had surgery on Thursday at Philadelphia to address bilateral core muscle injuries. Voit was coming off a second half that was impacted due to a sports hernia.
Also, Giancarlo Stanton was dealing with a Grade 2 strain of his right quad during the ALCS but the Yankees elected to keep him on their roster.
Had this happened during the regular season, Stanton would have once again been placed on the injured list.
Instead of replacing Stanton with what would have essentially been another bench player for the ALCS, the Yankees decided not to replace him, so as to retain his eligibility for the World Series.
With Hicks unavailable until at least the second half of next season, the Yankees could be quickly motivated to re-sign potential free agent Brett Gardner again to another one-year deal.
The Yankees' pro scouting meetings are scheduled to begin next Monday and run through Wednesday.
Outfield "is an area we're going to have to discuss ... but I don't have any specific answers on personnel at this time," Cashman said.
Jacoby Ellsbury is not currently a consideration for 2020 after missing all of this season following hip surgery.
Hicks suffered the injury on a throw during an Aug. 3 game and suffered one setback during his rehab.
A second medical opinion produced a recommendation of Tommy John surgery, but Hicks went home to Arizona and began throwing on his own.
The results were good enough to get Hicks activated for the ALCS and his Game 5 home run off Justin Verlander helped send the best-of-seven series back to Houston.
After the Yankees were eliminated by Jose Altuve's game-winning homer in Game 6 last Saturday, Hicks said that he felt he might avoid the surgery that could now keep him sidelined until August.
Last year at this time, Cashman announced that shortstop Didi Gregorius would undergo Tommy John surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow. Gregorius returned in early June.
