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The Texas Rangers are about to “get Higgy with it.”
Former San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka is headed to the 2023 World Series champions, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Monday.
The deal appears to have come together quickly, as Nightengale released his report less than an hour after MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that the Rangers “have made progress” toward acquiring him.
Higashioka is headed to the Rangers on a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2027, according to Nightengale. Financial terms have not yet been released.
Higashioka caught 84 games for San Diego in 2024, hitting a career-high 17 home runs in his age 34 season. That helped offset a woeful .263 on-base percentage. Before coming to the Padres in the trade that sent Juan Soto to the New York Yankees, Higashioka spent parts of seven seasons with New York, splitting time with Jose Trevino in 2022 and 2023.
The Higashioka news comes on the heels of a rough year for regular Rangers catcher Jonah Heim. After hitting .258 with a .755 OPS in 2023, Heim followed that up with a .220 batting average and paltry .602 OPS this year.
“We’ve all had down years,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told the media in September. “I know we've had a few [players] this year that have not had their normal years, or the year that they had the previous year, and Jonah is one of them, both behind the plate and on offense.”
As a result, the Rangers were a shell of their World Champion selves as they attempted to defend their title. They finished third in the AL West with a 78-84 record.
The value that Kyle Higashioka brings to the Texas Rangers
Higashioka has never caught 100 games in his career and is now in his mid-30s, but that likely didn't diminish his value much in a sparse free agent class at his position. In only 448 total at bats the last two seasons, he compiled more WAR in that timeframe than any other free agent catcher (2.9).
Statcast rates him as an above-average pitch framer and he has a good reputation for his work with his pitching staffs. His pop time, however, has steadily increased along with his age and he rates as a below-average pitch blocker. Nevertheless, Nightengale reports that “Higashioka is loved for his defensive skills.”
His home run hitting and ability behind the plate helped him overtake Luis Campusano as the Padres' starting catcher in 2024. Higashioka hit well in the postseason too, smacking three home runs and a double over the Padres' seven playoff games.
