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• Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Taking seat Friday

  1D ago • By RotoWire

  Higashioka is absent from the lineup for Friday's game versus the Red Sox. Higashioka was behind the dish for Thursday's opener and went 1-for-4 with an RBI double, but he will yield to Jonah Heim for the second game of the series. The catching duties for the Rangers are likely to be split fairly evenly between the two players this season.

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• Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Double, RBI in opener

  2D ago • By RotoWire

  Higashioka started at catcher and went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Red Sox. Higashioka got the call behind the plate against a left-hander ahead of primary backstop Jonah Heim. The Rangers are expected to have a relatively even split at catcher, so this may not be a strict platoon based on the the handedness of the opponent's starter. Higashioka has hit double-digit home runs in four consecutive campaigns while never getting more than 246 at-bats in any one season.

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• Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Homers twice Friday

  29D ago • By RotoWire

  Higashioka went 2-for-2 with two home runs and six RBI in Friday's spring game against the Cubs. Higashioka belted a two-run homer in the second inning, produced a run on sacrifice fly in the fourth and then launched a three-run shot in the sixth. He blipped the fantasy radar in 2024 when the right-handed hitter knocked 17 home runs in 84 games for the Padres. The catcher's also drawn reviews this spring for his handling of the pitching staff, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports. The Rangers are expected to have a relatively even split behind the plate between Higashioka and Jonah Heim, who had some alarming drops in advanced metrics last season and is no stranger to second-half fades.

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• Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Set to split time at catcher

  12/03/2024 • By RotoWire

  Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker said Tuesday that Higashioka and Jonah Heim will split time at catcher in 2025, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports. Texas announced the signing of Higashioka to a two-year, $13.5 million contract on Monday. The 34-year-old is coming off the best offensive season of his career, having posted a .739 OPS with 17 home runs over 84 games with the Padres. Higashioka's 263 plate appearances in 2024 were a career high, but it sounds like he'll have a good shot to eclipse that total in 2025.

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• Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Lands with Rangers

  12/03/2024 • By RotoWire

  Higashioka signed a two-year, $13.5 million contract with Texas on Monday, which includes a $7 million mutual option for 2027. Higashioka will add a veteran presence to the backstop position for Texas and is likely to share the workload with Jonah Heim, who struggled during the 2024 campaign. Higashioka is coming off one of his most productive seasons at the plate, swatting a career-high 17 home runs and recording 45 RBI in 84 games for the Padres.

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