KYLE HIGASHIOKA

Position(s): Catcher Age: 34 Bats / Throws: Right / Right Height / Weight: 6-foot- 1 / 202 pounds How acquired: Acquired from the Yankees in December 2023 2024 salary: $2.18 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility Key 2024 stats: .220 avg., .263 OBP, .476 SLG, 17 HRs, 45 RBIs, 29 runs, 2 steals, 15 walks, 74 strikeouts (84 games, 263 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

.256 — Higashioka’s isolated power in 2024, the highest mark of his career outside the COVID-shortened 2020 season (.271). Isolated power measures a hitter’s raw power (slugging percentage minus batting average) and of Higashioka’s 54 hits in 2024, 28 went for extra bases (a career-high 17 homers, 10 doubles and one triple).

TRENDING

Up — The Yankees’ backup catcher arrived as something of an afterthought in the Juan Soto trade, as the primary pieces (Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vásquez and Jhony Brito) all addressed the organizations wide-spread need for starting pitching. Higashioka was slated to slot in behind Luis Campusano, who was getting his first crack at the starting job, and the veteran did little to threaten the depth chart as he posted a .380 OPS through the first two months of the season. But Higashioka hit eight home runs in 17 games in June (1.131 OPS) as Campusano struggled and ultimately required a stint on the injured list (thumb). While he was never as hot as he was in June, Higashioka also emerged as a more reliable defender behind the plate and eventually supplanted Campusano as the preferred starter. In fact, Campusano was optioned to Triple-A El Paso in September as Higashioka waded into the playoffs as the primary starter. There, he hit three more homers in seven playoff games (1.062 OPS), including two in the NL wild-card series win over the Braves.