Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka will get the start behind the dish on Friday over Jonah Heim in the series opener against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays at Globe Life Field. Higashioka will catch right-hander Tyler Mahle and will bat eighth against Rays right-hander Zack Littell. So far through eight games in 2025, Higashioka and Heim have had four starts apiece, splitting the catching work right down the middle. After a career year in San Diego in 2024, Higashioka has two hits in his first nine at-bats with the Rangers, including one RBI. Heim has looked better so far in a small sample size, batting .308 with two home runs and two RBI in 13 plate appearances. Higashioka will have limited DFS upside in the eight-hole on Friday, but he does have a solo home run in two career at-bats against Littell.

Texas Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka is behind the plate again and will hit eighth on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds and right-hander Carson Spiers at Great American Ball Park, with Jonah Heim retreating to the bench. Through the team's first six games of the 2025 season, Higashioka and Heim have split the catching duties down the middle with three starts apiece. Heim has four hits (two homers) and two RBI in 10 at-bats so far, while Higashioka has gone 2-for-7 with a double and an RBI in his first two starts. The near-even split behind the dish should continue and will keep both catchers fresh throughout the year. However, it's also bad news for both players' fantasy ceiling at the weak catcher position. Higashioka is coming off a career-best year in San Diego with 17 homers and 45 RBI, but fantasy managers can't expect that kind of output again if he's in a timeshare.

Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim will make his first start of the year on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander Tanner Houck at Globe Life Field. Kyle Higashioka will take a seat on the bench for the second game of the season. Heim is doing the catching for right-hander Jack Leiter and is hitting eighth in the batting order. The 29-year-old left-handed-hitting Heim has lost a lot of fantasy appeal now that he's essentially in a timeshare with Higashioka after posting a disappointing .603 OPS in 2024. Meanwhile, Higashioka had a career year with the San Diego Padres last year, posting a .739 OPS with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games played. Higashioka went 1-for-4 with an RBI double on Opening Day in the loss to the Red Sox. Heim has gone deep once with three RBI in just five career at-bats versus Houck.

The Texas Rangers are planning to give catchers Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka equal playing time in 2025, according to general manager Ross Fenstermaker. The Rangers signed Higashioka to a two-year, $13.5 million deal on Monday night and will plan to give him plenty of playing time behind the plate given Heim's struggles on offense this past season. The 29-year-old Heim was an All-Star in 2023, won a Gold Glove and a World Series ring, but he wasn't as good in 2024, slashing .220/.267/.336 with a weak .602 OPS, 13 home runs, 59 RBI and 45 runs scored in 131 games played in his fourth year in Texas. Meanwhile, Higashioka had a career year in his lone season with the San Diego Padres with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games played as the team's primary backstop. Texas will be hoping a straight split in playing time will keep them both productive, but it will surely limit their fantasy upside.

The Texas Rangers have signed catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year, $13.5 million deal that includes a mutual option for 2027. The veteran will back up incumbent Jonah Heim who logged 119 games behind the dish for Texas last season. Higashioka played in San Diego in 2024, getting only sporadic playing time as the backup to Luis Campusano until his bat went cold and an injury forced him to miss time, paving the way for Higashioka to take over as the starter. Through May, the 34-year-old was hitting .128 with one home run and a wRC+ of just 4 in 48 plate appearances, but from June up until the end of the season, the backstop hit .241 with 16 home runs and a wRC+ of 127 in 215 PA. As the backup in Texas, Higashioka is off the fantasy radar, but after proving he's still got some pop in his bat, managers would be wise to give him a look if anything were to cause Heim to miss time.

The Texas Rangers agreed to a two-year, $13.5 million deal with free-agent catcher Kyle Higashioka on Monday night that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season. Higashioka opened his first year with the San Diego Padres in 2024 as the backup to Luis Campusano, but he quickly took over starting duties after Campusano was injured early in the year and never looked back on his way to a career year. The 34-year-old former seventh-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2008 hit only .220 (54-for-246), but it came with a career-high 17 home runs, career-high 45 RBI and career-high 29 runs scored in 84 regular-season games. Higashioka isn't suddenly going to hit for average at this point in his career, and he's unlikely to come close to eclipsing his 2024 numbers as the likely backup to Jonah Heim in Texas. But don't discredit the pop if he earns more time, as he's reached 10 homers in four straight seasons.

San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka is out of the starting lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Houston Astros. This appears to be a routine rest day for Higashioka who has played in each of the last four games. In his absence, Elias Diaz will do the catching and bat eighth versus left-hander Framber Valdez. Diaz is having a decent season with the bat, but has only one hit in 10 plate appearances with the Padres. He'll be an avoidable streaming option against a tough southpaw on Wednesday.

San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and catcher Kyle Higashioka will both head to the bench on Wednesday as the team looks for a three-game sweep of the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Field. Tyler Wade will start at the 6 and bat ninth, while Luis Campusano will do the catching and hit eighth against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. Kim hasn't been nearly as effective as he was in his breakout 2023 season while batting leadoff for the Friars. The 28-year-old South Korean is hitting near the bottom of the lineup this year, but he remains useful in fantasy for his speed (22 stolen bases). After a strong start to the year, Campusano has struggled offensively, allowing Kyle Higashioka to become SD's favored backstop. Higashioka is hitting only .224 (38-for-170), but he already has a career-high 14 homers in his first year in San Diego.

San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka will head to the bench in Sunday's series finale against the hosting Miami Marlins as the Friars go for the three-game sweep. Luis Campusano will be behind the dish and will bat ninth for San Diego against Marlins right-hander Max Meyer. Higashioka and Campusano have been splitting playing time more regularly ever since Campusano returned from an injury earlier this year. In his first year with the Friars, Higashioka is hitting only .230 (38-for-165) but has been useful in fantasy leagues for his power, as he's slugged a career-best 14 home runs after hitting 10 long balls in each of his previous three seasons with the New York Yankees. Campusano, meanwhile, has been a disappointment offensively after a strong start, as he heads into Sunday's game with a .238/.278/.379 slash line with a .658 OPS, seven homers and 37 RBI in 240 at-bats.

San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka is back in the starting lineup as the Padres will look to clinch a series victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. Higashioka had the day off on Saturday but has begun to see the majority of the starts behind the dish in San Diego. The 34-year-old began to receive more opportunities while Luis Campusano was on the injured list with a thumb injury but remained the primary backstop since he returned. Since June 26, Higashioka has posted a strong .333/.394/.833 line with five long balls and 13 RBI. Campusano has only made two starts since returning from the injured list last week. While Higashioka may be swinging a hot bat, he should be faded in DFS this afternoon as he will face Atlanta southpaw Chris Sale, who has dominated in the first half of the season and is a front-runner to win the NL Cy Young.

San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka racked up six RBI in Wednesday afternoon's win over the visiting Washington Nationals, smashing two home runs in the victory. After smacking a two-run homer to left field to give the Padres a 2-0 lead in the second inning, Higashioka clobbered his second long ball of the game with a grand slam to left field off Nationals right-hander Tanner Rainey to extend San Diego's lead to 8-0 in the eighth frame. The 34-year-old longtime New York Yankee is worth considering in two-catcher fantasy leagues while starting backstop Luis Campusano (thumb) is on the injured list, slashing a robust .289/.333/.822 with seven big flies and 17 RBI across 45 at-bats during the month of June.

The San Diego Padres officially sent outfielders Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees in a blockbuster trade on Wednesday in exchange for right-handers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, and Randy Vasquez, and catcher Kyle Higashioka. The Padres cleared payroll space and acquired some much-needed pitching help with this massive deal. King, 28, could give the team a solid mid-rotation starter, but he struggled in the big leagues before 2023 and has already dealt with a major elbow injury. Thorpe, 23, was the Yankees' No. 5 prospect and could be a rotation option down the line, but he has yet to pitch above Double-A. Brito, 25, doesn't miss many bats and is likely ticketed for a relief role after struggling as a starter in the majors. Vasquez, 25, has durability questions but could serve as a back-end starter for the Friars. And Higashioka, 34, has some decent power and should serve as ... [More]

The New York Yankees placed outfielder Joey Gallo and catcher Kyle Higashioka on the COVID-19 injured list prior to Game 1 of the team's doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. In corresponding moves, the team called up relief pitcher David McKay from Triple-A and signed catcher Rob Brantly to a major league contract, selecting him to the team's 26-man roster. It's unclear how long both players will be out, but we could see Marwin Gonzalez benefit from Gallo's absence, while Jose Trevino will serve as the team's starting catcher.

New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka will be behind the plate for Tuesday's Wild Card game against the Red Sox. With Gerrit Cole on the mound, Higashioka will man the catcher spot as the ace right-hander's personal backstop. Starter Gary Sanchez, who hit just eight homers with a .646 OPS in the second half, will head to the bench, though he could have a role late in the game if needed as a pinch hitter. Higashioka did hit 10 homers in the regular season but is most valuable for his defensive contributions behind the plate.

New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka had a big day at the plate Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, three RBI, and two runs scored. With Gary Sanchez back in the fold, Higashioka should not be on any fantasy rosters, but he's put together a decent season with a .659 OPS and eight home runs. Still, fantasy managers surely have far better options on the waiver wire.

New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka belted his seventh home run of the season in Tuesday's 8-4 loss to the Royals. Higashioka gave the Yankees the lead with his 408-foot blast, which left his bat at 103.7 MPH. The backup catcher had a tough day in the field, making a couple of throwing errors, so it was nice to see him redeem himself somewhat at the dish. Higashioka has been the primary catcher with Gary Sanchez on the COVID-19 injured list, though he offers limited fantasy upside, having posted just a .672 OPS this season.

A look at what’s happening around the majors today: ___ BIG NAMES TEST POSITIVE COVID-19 continues to impact major league rosters more than 16 months after spring training was shut down in 2020 because of the coronavirus. The Washington Nationals will likely be without star shortstop Trea Turner for the next several days, while the Milwaukee Brewers will be missing 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich for more than a week. Turner and Yelich recently tested positive. Yelich and teammate Jace Peterson were placed on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday. Turner was pulled in the first inning of Tuesday night's game at Philadelphia. Turner began the day batting .320 with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs. He singled and scored in the first inning, then headed directly up the tunnel toward the Nationals' clubhouse and was replaced in the bottom of the first. The Phillies announced later in the game that Turner had tested positive, ending speculation that he was lifted for a possible pending trade or due to injury.... [More]

A look at what’s happening around the majors on Wednesday: ___ BIG NAMES TEST POSITIVE COVID-19 continues to impact major league rosters more than 16 months after spring training was shut down in 2020 because of the coronavirus. The Washington Nationals will likely be without star shortstop Trea Turner for the next several days, while the Milwaukee Brewers will be missing 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich for more than a week. Turner and Yelich recently tested positive. Yelich and teammate Jace Peterson were placed on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday. Turner was pulled in the first inning of Tuesday night's game at Philadelphia. Turner began the day batting .320 with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs. He singled and scored in the first inning, then headed directly up the tunnel toward the Nationals' clubhouse and was replaced in the bottom of the first. The Phillies announced later in the game that Turner had tested positive, ending speculation that he was lifted for a possible pending trade or due... [More]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge and backup catcher Kyle Higashioka have been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced the moves before Tuesday night's game at Tampa Bay. Judge started in right field and batted second against the Rays. “It's huge, obviously,” Boone said of Judge's return. “Really excited to have him back. Has been feeling really strong the last few days." Both went on the IL on July 16. The Yankees started Tuesday 9½ games behind AL East-leading Boston and eight back of the second-place Rays. Judge and Higashioka took batting practice on Monday's off day at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' spring training complex, in Tampa, Florida. First baseman Luke Voit, on the IL with left knee inflammation, took batting practice and defensive drills. He is expected back in the next couple days. “I would say he's very close,” Boone said. “We'll have a decision here in the next day or two.” Outfielder Clint... [More]