MIAMI – The Marlins placed Liam Hicks on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the Giants at loanDepot park.
Hicks, who leads Miami with 13 homers and 53 RBIs, was scratched from Saturday’s lineup with low back tightness. According to manager Clayton McCullough, Hicks still felt stiffness in his back when he arrived at the ballpark on Sunday morning. The club evaluated him further before announcing the decision to place him on the IL 20 minutes before first pitch.
With rookie Joe Mack receiving the majority of Miami’s catching reps since his promotion, Hicks has served as his backup and has been the club’s designated hitter or first baseman to keep his bat in the lineup.
Rather than recall Opening Day catcher Agustín Ramírez from Triple-A Jacksonville, the Marlins selected the contract of Brian Navarreto. In order to make space on the 40-man roster, Miami transferred righty reliever Josh Ekness to the 60-day IL.
Ramírez, who was demoted on May 4 to improve his defense and rediscover his swing, hasn’t found consistent success in the Minors. Entering Sunday, he was batting .238/.299/.402 (85 OPS+) with five homers, a 6.7 BB%, a 23.1 K% and a 58.2 GB% in 32 games.
Navarreto spent 12 seasons in the Minors before making his Major League debut in 2025 with the Marlins. In eight games for Miami last year, he went 4-for-14 with two doubles and one homer. Navarreto signed a Minor League contract with the Marlins over the offseason and was a non-roster invitee at Spring Training.