So. You’re Liam Hicks and you’ve gone from being a part-time catcher having pitches called from the dugout to being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. They take your iPhone. Make you sign an NDA. Record your fingerprints and DNA. Get you all fixed up for the retina camera and then — only then — do they invite you into the Underground City.
Congratulations, son. You are a Rays catcher.
Hicks, who went to Toronto’s Lawrence Park Collegiate, will be one we’re keeping an eye on when the Rays open their best-of-seven American League Championship Series on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians. Yep:
Acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline for three minor leaguers, Hicks started all of the Rays' three-game, AL Division Series sweep of the New York Yankees. He drove in the go-ahead run in Game 2 and caught all 27 innings in a series where two games were decided by one run, including Drew Rasmussen’s 7 2/3-inning no-hit bid in Game 1.
It’s been quite the year for Hicks, who combined for 18 homers and 82 runs batted in and who went from seeing his position as Marlins catcher threatened by prospect Joe Mack – Hicks made 58 of his 90 Marlins starts in 2026 as a DH or first baseman – to making 32 starts behind the plate for the Rays, filling in once at DH and twice at first base.
“My goal was always to be an everyday catcher,” Hicks said, before the Rays would finish off their three-game sweep of the Yankees. “Even when I wasn’t catching as much in Miami, I’d try to get in as much work as I could, doing early work, all that stuff.
“I hadn’t called pitches the whole year. I was wondering how that would go, whether it would be easy to get right back into it. Maybe the first couple of games were a little shaky, but I think as I’ve gotten to catch them more, now it’s kind of second nature.
“There have been times when some of the pitchers have called a pitch using the Pitch-Com and they trust me enough to override and be like: ‘No, I think this is what we should throw.’ Just gaining their trust is the biggest thing.”
Rays broadcaster Brian Anderson, a former MLB pitcher, believes Hicks’ acclimation was helped in no small measure by the fact the Rays' other catcher, Nick Fortes, had been a teammate of his with the Marlins in 2025. His manager, Kevin Cash, credits Hicks’ open-mindedness and humbleness as the key to his smooth transition.
“I think there was some in-game pitch calling from ourselves by Kyle (Snyder, the Rays pitching coach) yelling and screaming,” Cash said. “After, you know, three or four series, I think he had a real good understanding about what our pitchers strengths are and just worked off that.”
Hicks doubled and walked in his post-season debut, then drove in the go-ahead run in Game 2. Hicks fit in perfectly with the Rays' contact-heavy approach and was one of four MLB qualifiers with more walks than strikeouts during the regular season while having the fourth-lowest swing and miss rate among qualifiers. Hicks posted the second-highest OPS on the Rays following his acquisition.
These Rays, man… they take the details seriously. And they will be well-rested going into the American League Championship Series, which starts Monday. Here are six other players we will be watching in this battle between the smallest payroll in baseball (the Guardians) and the third lowest (the Rays)...
Six to watch
• Bryan Baker, RP, Rays: I mean, you could pretty much pick anybody out of the Rays bullpen but, man, it’s tough to overlook a guy who saved all three games of the ALDS against the Yankees. Baker and Guardians closer Cade Smith — a native of Abbotsford, B.C. — tied for the AL lead with 41 saves. Baker, who finally found a change-up grip he was comfortable with two years ago, hasn’t had to do the multiple-inning thing as often as Smith — twice, compared to 15 for Smith. But he’s successfully converted his last 33 save opportunities, going back to May 13. He’s been a beast all season long when he has faced runners in scoring position, limiting hitters to a .085 average with runners in scoring position.
• Victor Mesa Jr., OF, Rays: The Rays out-homered the Yankees, but their modus operandi remains singles, infield hits, sacrifices and stolen bases – especially once you get past their first four hitters. But there’s more length to this lineup than you might expect, and Mesa, a 25-year-old rookie acquired in a February trade with the Marlins — again with the Marlins! — has proven to be a crucial addition. Mesa's defence is exceptional, and while he’s a left-handed hitter, Cash wasn’t worried about running him out against the Yankees' Max Fried or Cam Schlittler. Mesa homered off Fried, and while he did most of his slugging damage off righties, he still posted a .333 average against lefties. Again… just put the ball in play. “He stays on the ball really well,” Cash said. “We’ve seen the opportunities he’s had against left-handed pitching, the ability to shoot the fastball the other way or pull the curveball.” Mesa had the highest OPS on the Rays after coming off the IL on Sept. 1.
• Hunter Gaddis, RP, Guardians: It’s a series between the team that invented the ‘opener’ concept – the Rays – and a club coming off a 21-strikeout effort from its pitchers with a manager who lives and often dies with the matchup game. But there is a nearly perfect world for the Guardians Stephen Vogt, where Cade Smith comes in to blow hitters away after Gaddis builds the bridge. But here’s the thing: those two pitchers combined to throw a remarkable 151 pitches in the ALDS and, well, you have to wonder how fresh they’ll be for Games 1 and 2. Gaddis has been on some kind of roll since the end of August, ripping through September as the Guardians secured the AL Central title (and a playoff spot) while going 5-0 with 11 holds and a 1.88 ERA in his final 25 appearances. Gaddis, whose 100 holds since the start of 2004 are the most in the Majors, gave up five hits in 4 1/3 innings while appearing in all five games of the ALDS, notching four strikeouts in the deciding game.
• Parker Messick, SP, Guardians: He’ll get the start in Game 2 on regular rest and, well, you must wonder a bit after his uncertain effort in the ALDS: 6 2/3 innings combined with six hits and four homers allowed as well as six walks. It’s great what Gavin Williams did in the ALDS — two 12-strikeout games and a cameo out of the bullpen in an all-hands-on-deck situation — and he’s sitting there waiting for Game 3, but Messick can’t have another road meltdown, especially considering the uncertainty of Game 1 starter Foster Griffin. The Rays have way less swing-and-miss in their lineup than the White Sox, and for Messick the game plan is clear: don’t force his manager to go to the bullpen any earlier than he wants.
• José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians: My goodness it feels good to write this with conviction. Look: there’s no doubt this guy is a first-ballot Hall of Famer (and he is one of my favourite players), but a post-season exclamation point would certainly burnish his cause. And Ramirez finally provided that against the White Sox, spurring the Guardians rally from a 2-0 deficit by going 5-for-12 with four extra-base hits (two homers) and seven runs batted in — after going 0-for-6 in the first two games. They’ll be breaking down the fourth-inning homer in Game 5 for years — it was the lowest pitch to be hit for a homer in a post-season game since they started tracking in 2008, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Ramirez did have multi-hit games in five of his last nine games in September and, in fact, hit .304 while doubling his hard-hit rate in the final two weeks, but his o-fer at the start of the ALDS raised questions about how compromised he was from left hamate surgery. He’ll see a steady diet of change-ups from the Rays — a pitch that ate up him and the Guardians, who as a team posted the third-worst batting average against changeups in the Majors. Defence is going to be a thing, too: the Rays have a contact-heavy, pressurized approach, don’t hang around at the plate long enough to strike out, and their pull percentage reflects a team that sprays the ball all over the field. Third base gonna be a hot corner.
• Drew Rasmussen, SP, Rays: Rasmussen had 18 quality starts this season, just two shy of his career total in 81 games coming into the season. He’s been one of the game's best-kept secrets: since 2021, his 2.76 ERA is third in the Majors among pitchers with 500 innings, behind only Shohei Ohtani (2.68) and Chris Sale (2.74). And he’s used to pitching with little margin for error at home, going 9-3 despite receiving one run of support or fewer in seven of his 15 starts. Kind of like Game 1 of the Yankees series. Rasmussen’s stock in trade is three fastballs he’ll use 81 per cent of the time. He was third in the Majors behind Schlittler and Jacob Misiorowski in strikeouts on fastballs. Like the rest of the Rays, he’s well-rested.
Jeff Blair’s pick: Rays defeat Guardians in five games.
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