What to Make of the Rangers' 1st Signing of the Offseason

With the off-season continuing to heat up, the Rangers made their first move of the off-season on Monday evening when they signed veteran catcher Kyle Higashioka to a two-year $ 13.5 million deal along with a mutual option for a third year.

The decision to sign Higashioka is somewhat surprising due to the fact that the team has much more pressing needs to address, including their currently dismantled bullpen and the current status of their rotation. They appear to be in jeopardy of losing ace Nathan Eovaldi, as he has been drawing interest from several teams after declining his player option from the Rangers at the conclusion of the season. 

However, the decision to sign Higashioka does add up because backup catcher Andrew Knizer was not re-signed after a disappointing season with the Rangers. During his lone season in Arlington, he finished with an abysmal .167/.163/.211 line. 

Higashioka is coming off of a one-year stint with the San Diego Padres, during which he appeared in 84 games and ended the season with a solid  .220/.263/.476 line, and cranked a career-high 17 homers. Prior to joining the Padres, Higashioka spent six years with the New York Yankees, during which time he primarily served as a backup catcher behind Gary Sanchez for the majority of his stint in New York. 

While Higashioka has primarily been a backup catcher throughout his career, he has been known for his ability to hit for power as he has a career slugging average of .412 and has been able to hit 10 or more home runs in his past four seasons which is especially impressive due to his limited plate appearances throughout his career.

Higashioka has also gained a reputation for being able to build strong relationships with his pitchers due to his strong relationships with pitchers he was responsible for catching Domingo Germans perfect game back in 2023 along with Corey Kluber's no-hitter in 2022 which happened to be against the Rangers.

The Rangers are hoping that Higashioka will be able to bring his excellent defensive abilities along with the pop in his bat to Arlington and add some depth to the catcher position, which was severely lacking last season. As mentioned, former Rangers catcher Andrew Knizer had a far-from-desirable season with the team. In contrast, All-Star catcher Jonah Heim had an unexpectedly poor season from the plate, where he produced his worst batting average since becoming a starting catcher and had a career-low in homers with only 13 through 491 plate appearances.

Along with Heim and Kinzelr's disappointments from the plate, Rangers third-string catcher Sam Huff who was once viewed as once of the Rangers top prospects seems to be nearing the end of his career with the Rangers due to his inability to get on base at a consistent rate. Hopefully, Higashioka will be able to rejuvenate the Ranger's catcher position, especially on the offensive end, and help Jonah Heim continue to develop into a starting catcher. 

Overall while  it was a somewhat a surprising move to sign Higashioka it could potentially go down as one of the best moves the Ranges make this off-season due to Higashioka strong resume as a backup catcher and his ability to potentially  help the Rangers become one of the most lethal offenses in the league once again. 

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