Hicks went from 2.0 WAR to -0.2 WAR after his age 25 and 26 seasons respectively, would you have argued the same for him then?
I do agree Hicks contract is a good one for the yanks but I think you're way too stuck on AAV and completely disregarding term. I think Grichuk at 4/40 right now is very comparable in value to Hicks at 7/70
And thats exactly the kinda stuff that declines the fastest after 30, look at Adam Jones