Five Canadians dealt prior to MLB trade deadline

August 4, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Five players with Canadian citizenship were dealt prior to yesterday’s MLB trade deadline.

Here’s a summary:

Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.)

The Miami Marlins traded catcher Liam Hicks to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for infield prospects Brayden Taylor and Adrian Santana and pitching prospect Jacob Kisting.

Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) has enjoyed a breakout season for the Marlins. In 101 games, the 26-year-old Canuck is batting .282 with 14 home runs and a team-leading 62 RBIs. He’s also one of a select few MLB players with more walks (40) than strikeouts (39). This has helped him post an impressive .363 on-base percentage.

Hicks, who has also seen time at first base and DH with the Marlins, is in his second big league campaign. In 119 games with the Marlins in 2025, he batted .247 with a .346 on-base percentage with six home runs and 45 RBIs.

He joined the Marlins after he was selected from the Detroit Tigers in the Rule 5 draft in December 2024.

A Toronto Mets alum, Hicks was originally chosen in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. He played parts of four minor league seasons in the Rangers and Tigers organizations before graduating to the big leagues.

He made his national team debut with Canada at the World Baseball Classic in March.

Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.)

The Blue Jays shipped left-hander Adam Macko to the Rangers for infielder Josh Smith and right-hander Josh Stephan on Monday.

The 25-year-old Macko made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays on May 18. Since that time, he has posted a 4.91 ERA in 22 MLB relief appearances.

Macko grew up in Stony Plain, Alta. and honed his skills at the Vauxhall Academy prior to being selected in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Seattle Mariners. He pitched parts of three seasons in the Mariners’ organization prior to being traded to the Blue Jays, along with reliever Erik Swanson, for outfielder Teoscar Hernandez on November 16, 2022.

In seven minor league seasons with the Mariners and Blue Jays, Macko has appeared in 108 games (73 starts) and recorded a 4.50 ERA with 479 strikeouts in 380 innings.

Macko also toed the rubber in three games for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in March.

Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.)

On Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired catcher Bo Naylor from the Cleveland Guardians.

Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) was sent to Milwaukee along with right-hander Codi Heuer in exchange for right-hander Craig Yoho and outfielder Blake Perkins.

Naylor has played the bulk of 2026 with the Guardians’ triple-A Columbus Clippers after the Guardians acquired Patrick Bailey on May 9. Naylor was also mired in a long slump with the Guardians at the time.

In 45 games with the Clippers, he put together a .225/.344/.437 slash line and a .781 OPS. He had seven home runs and 24 RBIs.

He batted .143 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 28 games to begin the season with the Guardians.

The 26-year-old Naylor had been the Guardians’ regular catcher in 2024 and 2025. He belted a career-high 14 home runs in 2025 and batted .353 in four games for Canada at this year’s World Baseball Classic.

An Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team graduate, Naylor was selected in the first round of the MLB draft by the Guardians in 2018. His stretch with the Clippers this year represented his first in the minors since 2023.

In total in 346 MLB games, Naylor has 40 home runs and 125 RBIs.

Emilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.)

Infield prospect Emilien Pitre was dealt to the New York Mets by the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a package for veteran right-hander Freddy Peralta on Monday.

Earlier today, the speedy 23-year-old was named the Canadian Baseball Network’s Minor League Player of the Week after he topped all Canuck minor league players with 10 hits and a .476 batting average in five games for the Rays’ double-A Montgomery Biscuits last week. Pitre also scored five runs and posted a 1.212 OPS.

This hot stretch boosted his season average between the Biscuits and the Rays’ High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods to .308. The Academie Baseball Canada grad also owns a .438 on-base percentage and has four triples and 32 stolen bases in 88 games.

Chosen in the second round of the 2024 MLB draft by the Rays, Pitre will report to the Mets’ double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Jameson Taillon (Canadian citizen, national team alum)

On Sunday, the Blue Jays acquired right-hander Jameson Taillon and cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The 34-year-old Taillon has posted a 5.92 ERA in 15 starts with the Cubs this season.

Though he was born in Lakeland, Fla. and drafted out of The Woodlands, Tex., Taillon has Canadian parents. His mother was born in Toronto while his father is from St. Andrews West, Ont. (near Cornwall).

He has pitched for Canada in the 2013 and 2026 World Baseball Classics. In those tournaments, he has combined to allow two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings in two starts.

Selected second overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2010 MLB draft, Taillon made his big league debut with the Bucs in 2016.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound righty has since pitched parts of 10 MLB seasons with the Pirates, New York Yankees and Cubs.

In total, he has posted an 84-66 record and a 3.99 ERA in 239 major league appearances (238 starts).

Last season, Taillon was an effective starter for the Cubs, going 11-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 23 starts.

He also had a strong start in the third – and deciding game – of the National League Wild Card Series against the Padres last fall, permitting just two hits in four scoreless innings to help the Cubs to a 3-1 win.