Marlins just opened the door to a Rangers reunion that could kill two birds with one stone

As expected, Chris Young and the Rangers addressed their lack of catching depth by swinging a deal for Logan O'Hoppe from their division rival, the LA Angels. They then decided to send their new acquisition down to Round Rock to begin his Rangers stint, meaning there could still be more catching help on the way.

The Miami Marlins have announced that former Rangers 2012 9th-round draft pick Liam Hicks, a catcher who can also play first base, will be available at the trade deadline, and it could kill two birds with one stone for the Rangers, who could still use help at both spots.

Logan O'Hoppe shouldn't take a trade for Marlins C/1B Liam Hicks off the table for the Rangers

The appealing part of a Liam Hicks reunion is that he is a natural catcher who could help with the depth issue the Rangers have, with Danny Jansen likely done for the year and Kyle Higashioka on the IL, but he can also play first base. This would allow Skip Schumaker a left-handed bat to platoon with Jake Burger against tough righties who throw sliders for strikes on the outside part of the plate.

Hicks is a 27-year-old from Canada who has been really impressive in his first couple of seasons in the big leagues. This year, he is slashing .279/.358/.435 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs as a part-time catcher in Miami, playing 37 games behind the plate. He has also played 26 games at 1B and also DH'd. He would give the Rangers a lot of versatility as both a number-one catcher who can move to first against righties and even DH. He would also be a valuable bat to have available to pinch-hit late in games.

Hicks, who has a 2.5 bWAR so far this season, is far superior to anything the Rangers currently have on their roster, and even though the Rangers just swung the Logan O'Hoppe deal, he could still serve a purpose, giving the team a dynamic one-two punch when O'Hoppe is called up, which should be soon. Why else would they trade for him if he wasn't going to contribute at the major league level?

Furthermore, the platoon potential with Burger is real. The Rangers' beefy first baseman has a .798 OPS against southpaws, and while he's not useless against righties, that mark falls to .700 when he doesn't have the platoon advantage.

Hicks is a left-handed bat with an .885 OPS against righties, providing a serious upgrade. His ability to play first as well could mean that eventually he could coexist with O'Hoppe and Elias Diaz, who is still a far superior defensive catcher than the other two, even if his bat is starting to go silent.

O'Hoppe coming to town lessens the possibility some, but doesn't completely take it off the table. The Rangers might have bigger needs, but this is one versatile solution that he shouldn't discount entirely.

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