Liam Hicks
Much like their division foes in New York and Boston, Tampa Bay went into the deadline looking to make an upgrade at the catcher position. In the end, Neander called up former Rays general manager and snatched Liam Hicks from the Marlins.
Hicks, 27, was in the midst of a breakout season with the Rays’ in-state rivals before being shipped to the Eastern side of Florida.
At the time of the trade, Hicks was rocking a 124 OPS+, something that the Rays have needed from behind the plate. Before the trade, Rays catchers had combined for a 92 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR, both 14th in the majors. Hicks undeniably creates an offensive upgrade while fitting within the structure of the Rays’ lineup.
The lefty-hitting backstop brings a contact-first approach that has driven Tampa Bay forward throughout the season. Among qualified hitters, he ranks third in whiff rate (10.5%) and sixth in K% (9.2%). He even stands to benefit even more if he can up his 20.1% line drive rate this year, more than 4% below the league average.
On the flip side, he ranks 10th lowest in average exit velocity (85.2 mph) and 13th in average bat speed (68.3 mph).
The Rays, as a team, own the league’s lowest strikeout rate at 19.0%. They also rank dead last in barrel rate (5.8%) and 26th in exit velo (88.1 mph). By adding Hicks to this lineup, the team is doubling down on this offensive approach, with Junior Caminero as an outlier.
Since 2015, only one team, the 2016 Chicago Cubs, has made it to the World Series despite finishing in the bottom 10 in average exit velocity. The Rays are playing a brand of baseball that has faced many more challenges going deep into October. They will need contributions from guys like Hicks for this operation to be successful.
Tyler Wells
On deadline day, the Rays bullpen was sitting with a 3.73 ERA and 4.07 FIP. Tyler Wells was added into the mix to bring more depth into the unit. Throughout this season, he had posted a 2.51 ERA and 3.26 FIP between his time with the Rays and Orioles.