John Hicks

Hicks received a career-high 312 plate appearances in 2018, starting 20 games behind the plate and another 56 at first base. He hit a respectable .260/.312/.403, good for a 95 wRC+, perfectly fine for a catcher but not nearly good enough for a first baseman. Hicks is not going to take over as the primary catcher, but with Miguel Cabrera possibly starting more games at designated hitter now that Victor Martinez has retired, occasional starts at first base will be open for Hicks. At 29 years old and without much on his resume, Hicks is unlikely to be part of the Tigers' future. That said, the team doesn't really have many major-league-ready prospects beating down the door to take Hicks' roster spot in 2019. He could be a deep-league catcher fill-in if he falls into more at-bats than expected.

The Tigers leaned on Hicks for a career-high 190 plate appearances last season, as injuries to Miguel Cabrera created an occasional need for help at first base, and the organization's lack of depth at the position prompted Hicks to move out from behind the plate. The opportunity went better than his brief run in Seattle in 2015, as he showed some power when he was able to connect, but opposing pitchers seemed to figure him out later in the year, as he went 8-for-53 with 17 strikeouts over the Tigers' final 30 games. Even if Cabrera is unable to return to his previous workhorse level volume of playing time, it seems likely that a better backup option will be in place before Opening Day. Additionally, Hicks is unlikely to usurp James McCann for a larger role behind the plate, so it's difficult to expect anything more from him in 2018.

Hicks has bounced around the minors for the majority of his career thus far, appearing briefly for the Mariners in 2015 before being waived by them. The catcher was claimed by the Twins and started the 2016 season with their Triple-A Rochester affiliate, where he batted .242 in nine games before being waived and picked up by the Tigers, who assigned him to their Double-A affiliate Erie. Hicks excelled there, slashing .388/.426/.510 in 14 games before being promoted to Triple-A Toledo. There he slashed .303/.356/.485 in 70 games, swatting 8 homers to go along with his 42 RBI before being called up to the majors. The 27-year-old played in only one game for the Tigers after being called up, going 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. With Jarrod Saltalamacchia hitting free agency, the Tigers are in need of a backup for James McCann, a role that could belong to Hicks barring any free agent signings.

The Mariners designated Hicks for assignment when they signed Chris Iannetta in the offseason. Hicks was snatched off waivers by Minnesota, where he will add depth at catcher behind Kurt Suzuki and John Ryan Murphy. He hit a combined .290 across two levels in 2014, but poor plate discipline and contact issues caught up with him in 83 Triple-A games last season when he posted a .644 OPS. He had two hits in 32 at-bats with the Mariners after a late-season callup, and he'll likely be back at Triple-A this season as an organizational depth option for the Twins.

A .296/.362/.418 batting line in 53 games with Double-A Jackson earned Hicks a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma in mid-July. The move up came with some slight growing pains, but Hicks got back on track in the Arizona Fall League, slashing an impressive .304/.396/.522 with two homers and a 6:7 BB:K in 13 games. It was enough to convince the Mariners he warranted protection from the Rule 5 draft, and they went ahead and added Hicks to their 40-man roster in November. The 25-year-old may very well get a chance to compete with Jesus Sucre for the backup job in spring training, but Hicks' power has dried up for the most part in recent seasons -- he's managed just nine homers over the last two years after smacking 15 in 2012 -- and it's unlikely he would hold value in any format in such a limited role.