Twins trade Aaron Hicks to Yankees for John Ryan Murphy

The New York Yankees acquired versatile outfielder Aaron Hicks from the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy. It was their second trade of the day.

"This is an independent, straight-up, good old-fashioned baseball trade - a lot of talent for a lot of talent," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters. "I think Minnesota got a good player, and I certainly hope we got a good player. It provides us flexibility as we move forward to do some things, but that's not why I did the trade."

Hicks, 26, will fill the Yankees' fourth outfielder void left by Chris Young, who's a free agent. He can play all three outfield positions, and the switch-hitter thrives against left-handed pitching, just like Young. Hicks hit .256/.323/.398 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 97 games for the Twins last season, but his slash line inflates to an impressive .307/.375/.495 when squaring off against southpaws.

"Obviously, fits an area of need for us, because of what (Hicks) does against left-handed pitching, especially," Cashman said. "Plus defender. Big arm. Gives us a lot of flexibility. A young, exciting talent. Perceived at a high level for a number of years. Hit the big leagues at a younger-than-typical age for his abilities. We believe he has figured a lot of things out in the last year."

Reports surfaced earlier Wednesday of the Yankees discussing a potential deal that would send outfielder Brett Gardner to the Seattle Mariners. Gardner is definitely potential trade bait now with the addition of Hicks. The Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Angels are just a few of the teams seeking outfield upgrades this fall.

Murphy, 24, a second-round pick by the Yankees in 2009, appeared in 65 games behind the plate for New York in a timeshare with heavy-hitting catcher Brian McCann. He'll be blocked by another All-Star backstop in Minnesota, in Kurt Suzuki.

The Yankees traded utility infielder Jose Pirela to the San Diego Padres in exchange for pitching prospect Ron Herrera earlier in the day.