Baseball: Bradenton native John Ryan Murphy dealt from Yankees to Twins

BOCA RATON -- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman followed through on his vow to aggressively transform his team this offseason, acquiring switch-hitting outfielder Aaron Hicks from Minnesota for catcher John Ryan Murphy, a Bradenton native, on Wednesday and dealing infielder Jose Pirela to San Diego for a minor league pitcher.

The 26-year-old Hicks takes the roster spot of Chris Young, who became a free agent, and the move could be a precursor to trading All-Star Brett Gardner.

The 14th overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft, Hicks hit .256 with 11 homers and 33 RBIs in 97 games for the Twins this year, including .307 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 101 at-bats against left-handers.

Hicks is part of the Yankees' movement for a more athletic roster.

"I wasn't going to trade John Ryan Murphy for an old guy," Cashman said.Murphy, 24, was Brian McCann's backup this year and batted .277 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 67 games.

He looked ready to assume a starting role elsewhere, and New York considered itself deep at catcher, with Austin Romine and touted prospect Gary Sanchez."We know he's got power and he can throw and he's a pretty good defensive catcher," Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "We think he has all the skills and the traits to be a major league starting catcher. Whether it's now or down the road, it may take a little time."

Minnesota expects Murphy at first to share time with Kurt Suzuki.

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Baseball: Bradenton native John Ryan Murphy dealt from Yankees to Twins ."