The New York Yankees spent pretty much the whole first half of the season in need of a catcher.
It was the one thing every analyst could agree on: Yep, the Yanks would probably deal for a catcher before the August 3 MLB trade deadline.
The Yankees didn’t trade for a catcher, though.
They were linked to Ryan Jeffers. He stayed put in Minnesota.
They were connected to Tyler Stephenson. He remained with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Hunter Goodman rumors may have been unlikely, but he too never was traded, instead finishing the year with the Colorado Rockies.
The Yankees remained with Austin Wells and a brigade of backups, none of whom swung a good bat this season.
That’s not because no catchers moved at the deadline, though, so with the Yankees now out of the playoffs, it’s worth considering what two other AL East clubs did.
The Boston Red Sox traded for Adley Rutschman, having to send out a ton of prospect capital for a deal that hasn’t worked very well thus far.
The Tampa Bay Rays, the team that eliminated the Yankees, may have gotten it right. They traded for Liam Hicks, who has been great.
Post-deadline including postseason:
Adley Rutschman (2028 free agent) .216/.269/.392 | +2 FRV
Liam Hicks (2031 free agent) .274/.365/.422 | +4 FRV
For a fraction of the price. Neander cooked.
— Paul Hembekides (Hembo) (@PaulHembo) October 9, 2026
Liam Hicks Trade Cost
The Rays had to trade three prospects for Hicks, although none of them were big names.
Righty pitcher Jacob Kisting as well as infielders Brayden Taylor and Adrian Santana went to the Marlins. None of them are regarded as top-100-type prospects.
Hicks was hitting .282 at the time of the deal with 14 home runs and more walks than strikeouts, so he was clearly a big get by Tampa Bay.
There are two reasons the Yankees might not have even realized he was available to catch for them: Hicks was playing some first base in Miami, and he also wasn’t this level of player before this year.
Missing the Point
Clearly, the Yankees could’ve at least tried to get Hicks — especially to keep him from going to their AL East rival in Tampa Bay.
New York, for whatever reason, didn’t.
Maybe it had to do with Hicks’ pedigree, which wasn’t particularly impressive. But Hicks made wholesale swing changes for this season, and they clearly worked.
The Yankees may not have ever pursued Hicks, or they may have made a worse offer. There’s no way to know now.
The reality is simply that the Yankees could’ve used Hicks in a major way in the second half, and instead the Rays ended up with him and are still playing baseball after the rest of the AL East has gone home.
Yankees’ Liam Hicks Trade Decision Backfired