Yankees call up outfielder Willie Calhoun, but Aaron Hicks doesn't seem dismayed

BALTIMORE — Dating  to last season, Aaron Hicks hasn’t shied away from occasionally expressing his frustration at his rapidly diminishing role with the Yankees.

The switch-hitting outfielder, who did get his third start in eight games on Saturday night against the Orioles, did not express anything approaching that before the game.

“Just kind of getting ready for opportunities,” said Hicks, who came into Saturday 0-for-7 with three strikeouts this season.

When the Yankees placed Josh Donaldson on the injured list earlier in the day, rather than call up an infielder, they brought up outfielder Willie Calhoun — who had a standout spring training as a non-roster invitee — from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

What went through Hicks’ mind when he saw Calhoun had been called up?

“That those aren’t my decisions,” he said. “I just stay ready. I may sound like a broken record, but just stay ready for opportunities for me to get in there and do my thing.”

When pressed, Hicks said his initial reaction was not disappointment.

“No, I mean, we're lucky to have Willie on the team,” he said. “He had a great spring, and he had an opportunity to come up here and play for us. So I’m excited for him.”

Organizationally, the Yankees haven’t been thrilled with Hicks’ outspokenness at times regarding his playing time. Aaron Boone, who is trying to balance playing time among the glut of outfielders he has on the roster — which includes converted infielders Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswaldo Cabrera — wasn’t critical of Hicks on Saturday but also said: “Everyone can’t play every day.”

He added, "This is Hicks’ third start in eight games. Every guy's gotten some run. The reality is, there's 13 spots [for position players]. I try and keep guys active and keep guys playing. You’ve seen Franchy [Cordero] get in there a couple times, Izzy’s [Kiner-Falefa] started a few games for us. So hopefully everyone's getting enough, whether it's a spot start or coming into a game or whatever to keep them sharp. Just doing our best to try and win each day and try and keep guys sharp as possible.”

Peraza dinged

Touted shortstop prospect Oswald Peraza, who lost out to Anthony Volpe for the starting job in the big leagues, has sat three straight days for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with what Boone described as “a little bit of a tight right hammy.”

Boone, who categorized Peraza as “day-to-day,” added: “I don't think it's a big deal.”

Volpe’s slow start

Boone all but laughed at the suggestion that Volpe, off to a 3-for-21 start at the plate entering Saturday, was pressing.

“We’ve played seven freaking games now out of 162, so it's overreaction on overdrive,” he said. “But he’s equipped to handle all that. He's fine. He'll get through it.”