Hicks is gone. Now, how about Donaldson?

Any day now, any way now, Aaron Hicks shall be released. 

Technically, he'll be traded, probably for a pack of cigarettes, along with $30 million in movie money. Thus will end a long, grinding, self-imposed nightmare over misspent cash by an owner that shall never know one pang of financial distress. Critics say the TV show Succession is about Rupert Murdoch's deformed mutant family. I think it's about the Steinbrenners, but let's table that discussion for another day, not during a win streak.

And yes, it's truly sad to see Hicks - a longtime Yankee - leave. That said, our psychic pain was salved a bit Sunday when Greg Allen - a symbol of Yankee replacement theory - stole second and third, and scored the go-ahead run. Streaky and tweaky, Hicks never learned the art of coming off the bench. Career desperation is a good teacher. Maybe on his next team, he'll take it more to heart.

Meanwhile, on this day of solitude and contemplation, the Death Barge must ponder the impending reincarnation of Jackie Donaldson, which Walking Dead fans surely dread like the return of Negan. Seriously, does anyone look forward to this?

This will happen around the time that the human muscle strain, Giancarlo Stanton - aka Mr. Exit Velo - returns from the jacuzzi. The Yankees will probably DFA the adorable Willie Calhoun, a Kewpee doll next to Stanton. Donaldson's return could force the Yankees to demote Oswaldo Cabrera or waive Jack Bauers, tilting the team, like Iowa, to the far, far right. In the lineup, he would replace DJ LeMahieu, who is - frankly - a better hitter and third-baseman. And we would have almost no LH hitters. 

Barring an injury that creates a need, there is almost no upside to Donaldson's return. 

The Yankees owe him $27 million. I say, pay it. He's Mariah Carey. He's the Babadook. Let him go. Again, unless injuries open a hole, there is no reason to force Donaldson onto this roster. 

Sometimes, I get the feeling that Brian Cashman fears that a DFA'd veteran will rebound with another team and make him look bad. I get it. If there's anything worse than a bad acquisition, it's when the guy leaves and does well. Sonny Gray, for example. It makes the Yankees look like a toxic environment. Well, it didn't happen with Gary Sanchez, did it? And Minnesota can crow about Joey Gallo's month of April, but he's hitting .211, and the elevator arrow is pointing downward. Sometimes, guys have just reached their sell-by dates.   

If the Yankee clubhouse is an emotional minefield, maybe it's because of the abundance of overpaid veterans, not of hungry youngsters. Let Donaldson go. If he returns to form, hooray for him. At 3B, I'll still take LeMahieu, IKF and Oswaldo. I'll take the future.