Kyle

Higashioka

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.

Higashioka returns after missing three games with a minor hamstring injury.

Higashioka is dealing with a minor hamstring injury. It’ll be Jonah Heim continuing to handle the catching duties.

Higashioka’s home run was his eighth of the season. The 35-year-old backup catcher hit a three-run home run off Chris Bassitt in the second inning to give the Rangers the early lead. Higashioka is hitting .259 with a .728 OPS and 33 RBI this year.