This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ST. LOUIS – When the Marlins dealt veteran Nick Fortes to the Rays on Tuesday, it did three things: introduced another upper-level prospect to the system, opened up more playing time for the club’s rookie catchers and altered the first-base situation.
The emergence of Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks at the plate made Fortes, who was under club control through 2028, expendable. With Fortes’ departure, Ramírez will continue receiving the majority of the starts behind the dish while Hicks returns to the backup role.
Through the remainder of this season, Miami wants to see that duo develop behind the plate. Entering Wednesday’s series finale, Ramírez had -9 defensive runs saved and Hicks 1 DRS, so there’s room for improvement.
“From the jump in Spring Training, the urgency has been through the roof, and you could say now that it clamps down even more so,” catching coach Joe Singley said. “But from the jump, these guys have been at it every day, and the urgency for them to improve, [with] this being their first year. Defense is something that we hammer every single day, and blocking and throwing our main objectives with both of them. …
“The urgency to improve and being prepared for each game. Obviously, it's not going to happen overnight. But we hang our hats on every day they're doing everything they can to improve, especially on the block and throwing side of things, just handling the game.”
In Miami’s loss to St. Louis on Monday night, Ramírez and Hicks started at catcher and designated hitter, respectively. Ramírez committed a throwing error and catcher’s interference, each of which led to a run. On Tuesday, Hicks caught the shutout and Ramírez served as the DH. Ramírez caught his first shutout, while Hicks was out of the lineup on Wednesday.
Even on days when they serve as the DH, are “off” or Hicks plays first base, Ramírez and Hicks will sit in on the hitters meeting and game plan with the pitching staff. They also spend at least 30 minutes working on catching fundamentals.
“It's obviously difficult, but it's an honor and a privilege,” Hicks said. “There's just a lot throughout your day. And then, also, just keeping your body right. Obviously, it's a long season, longer than the Minor League season, so just making sure that you have your body prepped to be able to catch every day."
Miami isn’t shying away from what the metrics say of the catching defense. Ramírez recently said he takes pride in game management and being a leader, things that aren’t quantifiable. Of late, his receiving has been close to league average or better.
And while the defense hopefully improves, the Marlins want Ramírez’s (101 OPS+) and Hicks’ (103 OPS+) bats in the lineup as much as possible.
"We know there's going to be growing pains, but when you think about that position, all the nuance that's involved, all that's on your plate, and we also ask Gus to hit in the middle of the order," manager Clayton McCullough said. "Gus is trending, and Gus is going to only continue to get better, because he wants to catch, and he has the ability to do that. He pushed some great buttons tonight, getting the pitchers through it, had a couple good blocks. Gus is — like the rest of them — going to have moments where things happen, but it's just the ability to bounce back from it and keep moving on."