Marlins trade Liam Hicks to Rays for 3 prospects

[Kevin Barral]

The Miami Marlins traded Liam Hicks to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, as first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan. Fish On First can confirm that the Marlins will be receiving prospects RHP Jacob Kisting, SS Adrian Santana and INF Brayden Taylor. Neither club has made the trade official yet.

Under president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, the Marlins have made a habit of turning overlooked players into valuable major leaguers, with Hicks being a perfect example. The Marlins selected him in the 2024 MLB Rule 5 Draft. He had never played above Double-A, and after a solid spring, he managed to make the 2025 Opening Day roster.

In his rookie season, Hicks slashed .247/.346/.346/.693 with six home runs, 45 RBI and posted a 98 wRC+. His role expanded as the year progressed. He finished 2025 catching in 62 games and playing 28 games at first base.

Over the offseason, Hicks worked on his bat speed in an attempt to hit for more power. In 2026, that work has paid off. His average bat speed went from 67.4 mph to 68.3 mph, raising his average exit velocity from 84.6 mph to 85.2 mph. Combining added strength with an increase in his pull rate, Hicks already has 14 home runs this season. He has also maintained his elite contact ability, striking out 9.5% of the time, which is the lowest among MLB catchers and fifth-lowest among all qualified hitters.

After all of his adjustments, Hicks is slashing .282/.363/.432/.795 with a team-leading 62 RBI and a 119 wRC+. However, Joe Mack is poised to be Miami's primary catcher long term. The Rays had a pressing need at the position, while the Marlins felt he was expendable to them.

Taylor, an infield prospect, is ranked No. 16 on MLB Pipeline's Rays Top 30. Currently in Double-A, he is slashing .284/.384/.513/.897 with 17 home runs, 56 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 136 wRC+. He is repeating the level after posting a 77 wRC+ in his first full season there.

Kisting, the lone pitching prospect coming back in the trade, was No. 26 in the Rays system on Pipeline. In 18 games (16 starts) at the High-A level, he has a 1.67 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 10.05 K/9 and 1.88 BB/9. Compared to last year, he is striking out more and walking less guys, but doing this while repeating the level. Expect Kisting to be promoted to Double-A at some point soon.

The final piece is a local kid, Adrian Santana. Played high school baseball at Doral Academy. He is also the son of former Cuban baseball player Osmany Santana. Santana is currently in High-A, where is 51 games he is slashing .316/.381/.400/.781 with three home runs, 23 RBI, 23 stolen bases and a 108 wRC+.

The Boston Red Sox were one of Hicks' other suitors, as The Athletic previously reported on Sunday. They ultimately acquired Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman instead.

This is the second straight year that Bendix has made a deadline deal with his former club. He sent Nick Fortes to Tampa Bay in 2025 for outfielder Matthew Etzel. Hicks and Fortes will now be reunited.

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[Jose Herrera]

Good luck Liam, thank you. We will miss you!

Not sure we needed more shortstops unless...

[2qbn]

Interesting haul. We'll see how it goes. Rule 5 lotto ticket

[One Regend]

Interesting choices. Both infield prospects are blocked at 2B and SS, though. They do have promise, but their only lanes to playing reps are at 3B, who they will have competition with in Aiva Arquette. I do anticipate the Marlins might swing a buying move, using Starlyn Caba as trade bait due to the logjam up the middle, as his elite defense and range would be wasted at 3B. If not Starlyn Caba, then Brandon Compton, as I do envision cashing out on him before his strikeout rate becomes an unignorable problem.