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Why Rays are trading for catcher Liam Hicks in deadline deal with Marlins originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Tampa Bay Rays swung a trade with the New York Mets a day before deadline day, acquiring Freddy Peralta to bolster the rotation.
But, they still had a need to address with the bullpen, but more importantly, on offense. Ideally, one of those offensive additions would be behind the plate. On deadline day, they did just that.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Rays are acquiring Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins, landing a controllable young catcher who has some great offensive numbers in a deadline splash to fill a much-needed position on the roster.
Why Rays are trading for Liam Hicks from Marlins
"BREAKING: The Tampa Bay Rays are acquiring catcher Liam Hicks in a trade with the Miami Marlins, sources tell ESPN," Passan reports.
This is a big move for the Rays, as they're getting a significant upgrade to their catcher spot in a 27-year-old slugger who is under club control through the 2030 season.
With the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees also seeking out catcher upgrades, the Rays' landing of Hicks is a huge move for the franchise.
According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Rays are sending Brayden Taylor, Adrian Santana, and Jacob Kisting to the Marlins for Hicks.
Those are, according to MLB Pipeline, the Rays' No. 16 (Taylor), No. 26 (Kisting), and No. 27 (Santana) ranked prospects. Not too expensive for the Rays to acquire someone who will make a huge impact on offense for the Rays.
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This season in 101 games and 354 at-bats, Hicks has posted 2.5 bWAR with 100 hits, nine doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 62 RBIs, 40 walks, just 39 strikeouts, and a .282 batting average with a .795 OPS.
Hicks is a fantastic addition for the Rays behind the plate offensively, and while his defense isn't the best, the major upgrade for the offense is a huge reason why this is a great move.
Some trades need a bit of explaining to justify why they were made. In this case, it's a very simple reason why Hicks is a good pickup: he's a major upgrade at a position of need with control and some youth.
It doesn't really get better than this. Adding Hicks in this trade is a fantastic move for the Rays, and one that their fans should be very excited about.
More MLB news:
- Cubs land Kevin Gausman in blockbuster trade with Blue Jays
- Red Sox expected to trade Jarren Duran during offseason, not MLB trade deadline
- What did Mets get for Freddy Peralta? Rays send three prospects for 4.99 ERA SP
- Tigers receive lousy grade for Tarik Skubal trade to Dodgers from ESPN
- How Cubs inadvertently helped Dodgers trade for Tarik Skubal
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