Kyle

Higashioka

Elias Díaz will handle the bulk of the catching duties for the Rangers with Higashioka likely to miss at least a couple weeks. The 36-year-old backstop has hit .218 with seven homers in 186 plate appearances this season.

In one of the funniest moments of the first half, Higashioka pinch-hit for Joc Pederson in the eighth inning just before coming in to pitch the last inning of this blowout. He smacked an otherwise meaningless solo homer in an eventual 13-1 loss to the Angels, but that shot was met with raucous cheers by the multiple sections of shirtless men participating in the ‘tarps-off’ trend that’s sweeping the league. The Rangers also shot off fireworks to add to the hilarity of the moment. Then, he let up two innings in relief that featured a hit batsman and a double play. It’s useful to find senseless joy during the 162-game grind.

The homer off Connelly Early in the second just barely made it over the Green Monster for his fifth of the year. He had been 1-for-12 in four games since Danny Jansen went on the injured list.

Higashioka had just missed a home run on a foul ball in the third inning before knocking a base hit. He then got all of one in the fifth, taking George Kirby deep for a two-run blast, his first home run of the season. The 35-year-old catcher is backing up starter Danny Jansen, but has shown some power upside if he gets the opportunity to play as a regular.

The 35-year-old backstop was scratched from the Rangers’ lineup on Saturday due to back spasms. It’s encouraging that he’s returning so quickly, but back injuries can tend to linger, so it’s a situation to monitor for Higashioka heading into the season.

No word as to why Higashioka was bumped from the lineup, and it’s worth noting this is exhibition season. There should be an update on his status relatively soon.

The deal is now official. Jansen takes over as the Rangers primary backstop after the club decided to move on from Jonah Heim earlier this offseason. The 30-year-old backstop hit just .215/.321/.399 with 14 round-trippers across 337 plate appearances between the Brewers and Rays this past season. He’s no longer a relevant fantasy option at this stage of his career but it’s a decent landing spot if he’s going to put together a bounce-back campaign.

The Rangers could instead try for Victor Caratini or Danny Jansen to share time with Kyle Higashioka, who was signed to a two-year, $13.5 million deal last winter. Higashioka hit .241/.291/.403 while starting 68 games behind the plate and 16 at DH last season.

Higashioka had drawn a walk in the game before bringing the Rangers to within a run with a solo homer off Calvin Faucher in the ninth inning. The 35-year-old backstop is up to 11 homers and 47 RBI while slashing .247/.297/.414 across 316 plate appearances.

Higashioka’s homer came off an Oswald Peraza eephus in the eight-run seventh. It gave the Rangers three different players with five RBI in Higashioka, Adolis García and Joc Pederson. That ties a record, having been done nine times before. It last happened in 2022, when the Jays had Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Danny Jansen and Raimel Tapia get there against the Red Sox.