Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Set to split time at catcher
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
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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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Getting breather Sunday
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Higashioka is absent from Sunday's lineup against Arizona.
Elias Diaz will be behind home plate and bat seventh in Sunday's regular-season finale. Unless he comes in to pinch hit, Higashioka will end the regular season having slashed .220/.263/.476 with 17 home runs and 45 RBI over 2673 plate appearances.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Breaks open game with homer
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Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
Higashioka opened the scoring when he took A.J. Puk deep in the ninth inning. This was Higashioka's first homer in a month, and he's had a poor September, batting just .174 over 17 contests. For the season, the catcher has a .220/.263/.476 slash line with 17 homers, 45 RBI, 29 runs scored and two stolen bases over a career-high 263 plate appearances.
Higashioka isn't in the Padres' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.
Higashioka's single in Tuesday's win broke an 0-for-11 stretch at the plate, and he'll now get a chance to rest while Elias Diaz catches for Dylan Cease.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Sitting down Saturday
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Higashioka isn't in the Padres' lineup for Saturday's game against the White Sox.
After going 0-for-9 over his last four games, Higashioka will give way to Elias Diaz behind the plate Saturday.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Resting Wednesday
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.
He'll take a seat for the series finale after picking up starts behind the plate Monday and Tuesday. Elias Diaz will handle catching duties Wednesday in Higashioka's stead.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Exiting lineup Sunday
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Higashioka is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.
Higashioka will receive a breather in the series finale after he had started at catcher in four of the Padres' previous five games. Elias Diaz will step in behind the plate for San Diego.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: On bench Saturday
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Higashioka is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against San Francisco.
Higashioka will take a seat Saturday against Logan Webb and the Giants. In his place, Luis Campusano will catch and bat seventh.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Sitting down Thursday
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Higashioka isn't in the Padres' lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Higashioka will receive a second consecutive day to rest Thursday while Elias Diaz catches for Martin Perez and bats eighth.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Taking seat Wednesday
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Higashioka isn't in the Padres' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
After going 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored during Tuesday's win, Higashioka will give way to Luis Campusano behind the plate Wednesday.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: On bench again Sunday
Rotowire
Higashioka (illness) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Higashioka was scratched from the lineup Saturday due to flu-like symptoms, and he'll sit Sunday for a second straight game. Luis Campusano will receive another start behind the plate in the series finale.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Taking seat Friday
Rotowire
Higashioka is absent from the lineup for Friday's game in Tampa Bay.
He'll receive a day of rest after catching three of the previous four contests for the Padres. Luis Campusano will be behind the dish for the series opener versus the Rays.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Swats 16th homer
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Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals.
Higashioka has two home runs over his last five games, and he's hit four long balls while batting .224 over 17 contests in August. The catcher is up to 16 homers in just 66 games this season. He's added a .228/.275/.518 slash line with 43 RBI, 26 runs scored and one stolen base over 212 plate appearances. Higashioka is likely to continue sharing the catching duties with Luis Campusano, though a hot stretch at the plate for either backstop could lead to a corresponding uptick in playing time.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Sitting Thursday
Rotowire
Higashioka isn't in the Padres' lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.
Higashioka will get a chance to regroup Thursday after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts during Wednesday's contest. Luis Campusano will instead catch for right-hander Dylan Cease and bat eighth.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Taking seat Saturday
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rockies.
Higashioka has one hit in his last 14 at-bats and will get the night off Saturday to clear his head. In his place, Luis Campusano will catch and bat eighth.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: On bench Sunday
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a strikeout in Saturday's contest but will take a seat for the series finale in Miami. Luis Campusano is starting behind the plate and batting ninth Sunday.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Getting breather
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins.
After catching back-to-back games, Higashioka will yield to Luis Campusano behind the dish Friday. During those two starts, Higashioka went 2-for-7 with a three-run homer and a stolen base.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Cranks 14th homer
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Higashioka went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in a 9-8 extra-inning win against the Pirates on Wednesday.
Higashioka gave San Diego its first lead when he slammed a three-run shot to center field in the fourth inning. The long ball was the backstop's 14th of the campaign, four more than the career high of 10 he had established in three consecutive campaigns coming into 2024. Higashioka's trio of RBI on Wednesday also pushed him to a career-high mark with 37 on the season.
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Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Sends one out Sunday
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs scored in Sunday's win over the Rockies.
Higashioka pushed the Padres in front for good with a solo blast off Cal Quantrill in the fifth inning for his 13th home run of the year. It's the fourth straight season the 34-year-old has reached 10-plus home runs, and he's now tied his career high with 34 RBI. Higashioka also has registered at least a hit in eight of his last nine starts, slashing .300/.344/.567 with seven RBI over that span.
