P.J.

Higgins

Higgins had been designated for assignment and sent outright to Triple-A Louisville earlier in the week, but he’ll return with Jose Trevino (hamstring) heading right back to the injured list. Higgins has gone 2-for-10 (.200) in his limited action with the Reds this season. He’ll once again serve as the understudy to Tyler Stephenson.

Higgins can refuse the assignment and become a free agent if he wishes. He was jettisoned from the 40-man roster on Wednesday to make room for Chris Paddack, since the Reds had earlier activated Jose Trevino from the injured list to be their main backup catcher.

Higgins went 2-for-10 in six games for the Reds last month before being sent down when Jose Trevino came off the IL. This move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Chris Paddack.

With Jose Trevino (back) returning from the injured list on Sunday, Higgins will return back to his regular role at Triple-A Louisville. Higgins, 32, hit .200 (2-for-10) with one RBI and a 4/1 K/BB ratio in 12 plate appearances during his stay with the big league club.

With Jose Trevino (spinal strain) on the IL, Higgins will come up to serve as Tyler Stephenson’s backup.

Higgins is merely emergency organizational catching depth for the Reds entering his age 32 campaign. The well-traveled backstop has spent the past two seasons at Triple-A Louisville and hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2022 campaign when he got into 74 games for the Cubs. He adds some additional insurance behind Tyler Stephenson and Jose Trevino.

Higgins returns to the fold with Cincinnati as emergency catching depth at Triple-A Louisville after hitting .259/.320/.385 with 11 homers in 568 plate appearances last year. The 31-year-old backstop got into 83 contests for the division-rival Cubs from 2021-2022, posting a respectable .639 OPS with six homers in 254 plate appearances during that span, but hasn’t been back up to the big leagues since.

Higgins, 30, hit .210/.291/.348 in 254 plate appearances for the Cubs between 2021 and ’22 and .305/.382/.476 for a couple of Triple-A teams last season. He’ll offer Triple-A catching depth behind Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile in the majors.

Higgins was shipped to Chicago on Saturday to bolster the Cubs’ catching depth in the upper minors. The 30-year-old backstop got into 74 contests last season for the Cubs before signing with the Diamondbacks in January.

It looks like Jose Herrera will serve as the Diamondbacks’ backup catcher to begin the season. The 29-year-old could make a return if Herrera were to struggle as the backup out the gate.