MLB's catcher market just lost its best dream target

The trade deadline catching market is thin, ugly, and now it's official: there are 6 teams chasing the same handful of names. The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, Rangers and Dodgers are all reportedly hunting for help behind the plate, and according to Mark Feinsand, the pool of realistic targets isn't overwhelming.

Mark Feinsand

@Feinsand

The catching market has six suitors (NYY, BOS, TB, CHW, TEX, LAD), but the options aren't overwhelming. One name to watch: Liam Hicks of the Marlins. Sources say Miami is open to trading Hicks, who has played more at 1B/DH than C thanks to the presence of Joe Mack.

That's where Liam Hicks comes in. The Marlins catcher, who's been bumped down the depth chart to more 1B/DH duty because of Joe Mack, is reportedly available. Hicks is hitting.279/.358/.438 with a 118 wRC+ this season at 27 years old, and he's controllable for 4 more seasons after this one — the kind of cheap, productive, multi-year asset that makes rebuilding-adjacent teams drool at the deadline. MLB Trade Rumors put a bow on the report a little while later, confirming Miami's willingness to move him.

MLB Trade Rumors

@mlbtraderumors

Marlins Reportedly Open To Trading Liam Hicks t.co/uxmXwRP4HR

Feinsand also pointed to St. Louis as a potential secondary market. The Cardinals have the top catching prospect in baseball, Rainiel Rodriguez, sitting at Double-A, plus another top-5 org prospect in Leo Bernal at Triple-A. That depth theoretically frees them up to dangle Pedro Pagés or Ivan Herrera if the return is right — more inventory for the same starving buyers.

Then Jon Heyman closed the door on the one name every rebuilding front office fantasizes about at 3 AM: Salvador Perez. The Royals legend has full no-trade protection via his 10-and-5 rights, and Heyman's report makes clear he has zero interest in using it to leave Kansas City.

Jon Heyman

@JonHeyman

Salvy Perez, future Hall of Famer and legacy player, doesn’t want to leave the Royals and has veto power over trades. About a half-dozen teams seek a catcher but they can probably look elsewhere

Perez signed a 2-year, $25 million extension to stay in Kansas City through 2027, and he's spent his entire career there since debuting in 2011 — future Hall of Fame case included. Teams can call all they want; his no-trade rights make him a non-starter, which is exactly why Heyman's report matters as much as any actual rumor. It narrows the board instantly, from wishful thinking to a real shortlist.

So the field tightens fast: Hicks looks like the best realistic get on the market, the Cardinals' catchers are the fallback plan, and Perez was never actually in play no matter how many fans wanted to believe otherwise. With 6 teams chasing 1 clearly available starting-caliber catcher, expect Hicks' market to heat up fast as the deadline closes in.