Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Comes alive against former club
Rotowire
Higashioka went 3-for-3 with a home run, five RBI and a stolen base in Saturday's 7-4 victory versus San Diego.
Higashioka played for the Padres last season and recorded career highs with 17 homers and 45 RBI. He hadn't been able to carry that production over to Texas, as the veteran backstop came into Saturday with just one homer and 16 RBI across 44 games. Higashioka tormented his former club, though, swatting a two-run homer in the third inning before adding an RBI single in the fourth and eighth frames sandwiched around a sacrifice fly in the sixth. For good measure, the catcher swiped a bag in the eighth inning, marking his first theft as a Ranger and just his third over his nine big-league campaigns. Higashioka boosted his season OPS nearly 50 points from .573 to .621, but that's still well below the .739 mark he registered last year.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Scores twice in loss
Rotowire
Higashioka went 0-for-5 with two runs scored in Sunday's 6-4 extra-innings loss to Seattle.
Higashioka never reached base safely but managed to score two runs as the automatic runner in the 10th and 12th innings. June hasn't been kind to Higashioka, who is batting .167 after posting a .194 average during May. He parlayed a good stretch in San Diego last season into a two-year deal with the Rangers during the offseason, but Higashioka has not delivered while splitting the catching duties with Jonah Heim.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Season-high five RBI in easy win
Rotowire
Higashioka went 2-for-5 with a double, five RBI and one run scored in Tuesday's 16-4 victory over the Twins.
The five RBI established a season high to now give him 15 for the campaign. The 35-year-old slugging backstop is now slashing .233/.282/.320 with one homer, six doubles and nine runs scored across 110 plate appearances. The door is open for Higashioka to claim more playing time behind the dish, with Jonah Heim having gone 4-for-40 over his last 13 outings.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Hitting bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Though he's on the bench Wednesday, Higashioka seems to have at least moved into a timeshare with Jonah Heim behind the dish. Over the last six games, Higashioka started five times (four at catcher, one at designated hitter), while Heim was included in the lineup three times during that stretch. Heim (.659 OPS) has still been more productive at the plate than Higashioka (.599 OPS), so the latter will likely need to string together some more quality offensive performances before emerging as the clear No. 1 option.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Retreating to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
Jonah Heim is back behind the plate Sunday, but he's gone 2-for-23 with no walks and 10 strikeouts over his last eight games and seems to be losing his grip on the Rangers' No. 1 backstop job. Higashioka had started the previous four games -- three at catcher, one at designated hitter -- and went 3-for-11 during that stretch to bring his batting average up to .233 on the season. Though he'll be out of the lineup for the series finale, Higashioka may have at least moved into a timeshare with Heim at catcher.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Playing time picking up
Rotowire
Higashioka went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a walk in Friday's 11-1 win over St. Louis.
It was Higashioka's first multi-hit game in 11 outings this month, and he scored a season-high three runs as part of the Rangers' offensive outburst. The veteran backstop remains a without a home run in his last 17 contests (51 at-bats), during which he's batting just .216 with two doubles, five RBI and six runs scored. Even so, Higashioka has a clearer pathway to action as the designated hitter while Joc Pederson nurses a broken hand, as the former has started four of Texas' past five games since the latter went down.
The Rangers activated Higashioka (intercostal) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.
Higashioka has been out for all of May with a mild left intercostal strain but is ready to go after playing in two rehab games. Tucker Barnhart remains on the roster, so the Rangers will carry three catchers for the time being.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Plays in second rehab game
Rotowire
Higashioka (ribs) played five innings at catcher and went 1-for-3 with a double in a rehab game with Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.
Higashioka began a rehab assignment this weekend at Round Rock, initially getting five at-bats as the designated hitter Saturday before making his first start behind the plate Sunday. He'll likely come off the Rangers' 10-day injured list at some point during the upcoming week and will supplant Tucker Barnhart as the team's No. 2 catcher.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Higashioka (ribs) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.
Higashioka has been sidelined since May 1 due to an intercostal strain. He won't return after the minimum 10 days as originally anticipated, but he should be back with the Rangers after a few games in the minors.
The Rangers placed Higashioka on the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a mild left intercostal strain.
Texas had previously indicated Wednesday that Higashioka was dealing with hamstring soreness, but after further evaluation, the veteran backstop was revealed to be dealing with an injury to the upper half of his body. Manager Bruce Bochy does not expect Higashioka to be sidelined beyond the minimum 10 days, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports. Higashioka had been working in a timeshare behind the plate with Jonah Heim for much of the season, but Heim should see the overwhelming share of starts at catcher while Higashioka is out.
Higashioka reported tightness in his hamstring and is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
The Rangers are going to hold off on placing Higashioka on the injured list for now, but he may need to be deactivated if his condition doesn't improve after a few days of rest. Tucker Barnhart was added to the active roster from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday to give Texas another option behind the plate while Higashioka recovers.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Hits first homer of 2025
Rotowire
Higashioka went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers.
Higashioka put the Rangers on the board in the third winning with a two-run shot off Roki Sasaki. It was Higashioka's first home run of 2025, and he's started the season slashing .278/.316/.444 with two walks, two runs scored and five RBI over 38 plate appearances this season.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Knocks in run
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 5-2 win over the Rays.
Higashioka knocked in the first of four runs the Rangers scored in the third inning. He has taken on an equitable share of the catching position alongside Jonah Heim. Each player has started four games. Higashioka is batting .250 (3-for-12) with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored so far this season.
... See More... See Less
Rangers' Kyle Higashioka: Taking seat Friday
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.
1:14
0:15
1:31
1:06
1:23
2:24
9:59
1:03
0:35
1:43
11:03
8:08
1:52
2:08
8:44
9:14
0:21
9:28
8:39
9:36
