Two years after trading for Joey Gallo, the Yankees apparently think Estevan Florial strikes out too often to play LF

Often, Yank fans mirror the characters in those Progressive TV ads about kids becoming their parents. We stand around, carping about who will play left field.  You can imagine Dr. Rick shaking his head, then blurting, "NO MORE TALK ABOUT AARON HICKS!"

But, really, how can we not?

If the season launched today, our starter in left - the ancestral grounds for Mel Hall, Luis Polonia and Chad Curtis - would be Aaron "the Wrong Aaron" Hicks, who batted .216 last season and gives us the same feeling House Republicans must have when George Santos trends on Twitter.

The free agent ranks of lefty-hitting leftfielders has dwindled to cigarette butts and bottle deposits, and unless future Hall of Famer Brian Cashman can trade for somebody, another year looms of Hicksy, who - fun fact: is said to be the best golfer in baseball. The mere notion of Hicks - again - conjures George C. Scott in the 1979 movie Hardcore. I want to scream, "Turn it off!"

But I am not here today to turn it off... hope, that is. I'm here to open a can of happy, even if Hicks turns out to be our man. I'd rather we move slowly with trades, especially if the alternative is to further drain our farm system, which already resembles Lake Mead, for somebody who was good five years ago. 

At some point, the Yankees must give youth a chance. Tampa does this, all the time. The Yankees seem to view prospects for their hype value: They spend years touting a kid, then trade him and say he was never in their plans. It's time to give left field to the next generation. The answer to our problem can come - forgive me, here - out of left field.

Here's why Cashman and his AARP should stand pat.

1. The Yankees never have star left fielders. According to Baseball Reference, here's our list of starting LFs in the 1990s, arguably our last great decade: Oscar Azocar, Mel Hall Jr., Dion James, Luis Polonia, Gerald Williams, Tim Raines (age 37), Chad Curtis, Rickie Ledee. Never mind the police rap sheets. This is a list of goober hitters and defensive statues. The Yankee left field G.O.A.T. might just be Roy White, and while we all love Roy... really? The G.O.A.T? Ouch. 

2. We can't do worse than last year. In case you've forgotten, our best months came with Joey Gallo in left. He hit .159 and fanned in nearly half his ABs. We ended the year with Oswaldo Cabrera playing a position he hadn't held since little league. In the meantime, we had Hicks, Tim Locastro and the cast of Glee. Seriously, who cares about left?

3. We do have a lefty-hitting left fielder, right in front of us. His name is Estevan Florial. Yes, he carries the weight of prospect fatigue: The Yankees have hyped him for five years. Our biological clocks think he's pushing 50. But he's 25. Last season at Scranton, he hit .283 with 15 HRs and 39 stolen bases. 

Yes, Florial strikes out. Last year, roughly once every three ABs. That's Josh Donaldson territory. He needs to put balls in play. But let's circle back to those 39 stolen bases. This year, along with the over-shift ban, MLB is enlarging the bases, shrinking slightly the distance between them. I'm not sure this is wise, tampering with the fundamental dimensions of the game. But the owners are geniuses, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't be so rich, right? If Florial stole 39 bases last year, he should be a terror this season - when speed is a premium. 

One other thing: The Yankees have no more options on Florial. If he doesn't make the roster, he must be designated for assignment or traded, or both. 

I believe the Yankees can get by with a solid fielder, a speedster and 15-to-20 HRs. Too many strikeouts? Bat him ninth.  

Most of all, let's not kill our farm for somebody who peaked in 2017. At the least, stand pat. It's just left field.