The Texas Rangers are on the brink of “going Higgy with it.”
Kyle Higashioka, the former catcher for the San Diego Padres, is reportedly set to join the reigning World Series champions, as detailed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Monday.
The agreement appears to have come together rapidly, with Nightengale posting his report shortly after MLB Network’s Jon Morosi indicated that the Rangers were making progress towards acquiring him.
According to Nightengale, Higashioka is headed to the Rangers on a two-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2027. Financial specifics have yet to be revealed.
In 2024, Higashioka participated in 84 games for San Diego, achieving a career-high 17 home runs in his 34th season. This performance helped compensate for a disappointing .263 on-base percentage. Before his time with the Padres, Higashioka spent parts of seven seasons with the New York Yankees, seeing significant time alongside Jose Trevino in 2022 and 2023.
This news about Higashioka follows a tough season for Rangers’ primary catcher, Jonah Heim. After batting .258 with a .755 OPS in 2023, Heim has had a challenging year, managing only a .220 batting average and a subpar .602 OPS this season.
“We’ve all experienced declines,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy stated to the media in September. “I know we’ve had a few [players] this year who have not performed up to their usual standards, like Jonah, both defensively and offensively.”
As a result, the Rangers struggled to replicate their former glory as World Champions, finishing third in the AL West with a 78-84 record while attempting to defend their title.
The impact of Kyle Higashioka on the Texas Rangers
Higashioka has yet to reach the threshold of 100 games caught in any single season and is now in his mid-30s. However, this has likely not severely affected his value within a limited free agent market for catchers. Over the last two seasons, in just 448 total at-bats, he has generated more Wins Above Replacement (WAR) than any other free agent catcher at 2.9.
As per Statcast evaluations, he is regarded as an above-average pitch framer and has a solid reputation for working with pitchers. However, his pop time has steadily increased as he ages, and he currently ranks below average in pitch blocking. Still, Nightengale notes that “Higashioka is admired for his defensive prowess.”
His capability for hitting home runs, combined with his skills behind the plate, allowed him to become the Padres’ top catcher, surpassing Luis Campusano in 2024. Higashioka also shined during the postseason, hitting three home runs and a double across the Padres’ seven playoff games.
Image Source: Kyle Higashioka @ Instagram
