Re-Grading Rays Trading for Liam Hicks After a Month

What grade should the Tampa Bay Rays get a month after trading for Liam Hicks?

Aug 30, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays catcher Liam Hicks (34) singles during the eleventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the Tampa Bay Rays continue to march on in September toward the playoffs, the team has to be thrilled with how things have gone of late. 

For nearly the entire season, the Rays have proven to be the team to beat in the American League. Despite low expectations coming into the campaign, Tampa Bay has earned their spot atop the standings. 

With September here, the Rays have clinching a playoff spot and winning the division on their mind. Due to the rest of the AL not performing all that great, the winner of the AL East is going to almost certainly be the team with home-field advantage. 

At the trade deadline, it was good to see the team get aggressive and try to improve. This was a group that might have overachieved a bit, especially considering there were a few notable needs. However, credit should go to the front office for making some deals to improve without giving up some of their top prospects. 

Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta is pitching much better, and he has made a nice impact in his last two starts. Furthermore, another major addition for the team was catcher Liam Hicks. Improving the catcher position was a need coming into the season, and they finally addressed it. 

At the time, the deal appeared to be a really strong one for the team, and that has remained true. 

Hicks Has Been a Star

Aug 19, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays catcher Liam Hicks (34) heads home to score a run in the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The decision to trade for the talented catcher has proven to be a better move than the Rays likely could have imagined. So far with Tampa Bay, he has slashed .310/.405/.493 with three home runs and 13 RBI in 23 games. 

While his numbers with the Marlins were strong, he has an OPS that is nearly 100 points higher so far. It has been an extremely impressive run so far from Hicks, and the lineup for the Rays has been noticeably better with him in it. 

Due to catcher being a position that Tampa Bay really wasn’t getting much from offensively, he has filled a need and then some. Furthermore, with him being under team control for the next couple of years as well, this really looks like a home run deal for the Rays. 

Overall, Tampa Bay has to be ecstatic with the decision to trade for Hicks, and he is going to be a key part of the team down the stretch. 

Re-Grade: A+