Padres' Kyle Higashioka: Headed to SD in Soto deal
Rotowire
The Yankees traded Higashioka to San Diego on Wednesday alongside Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vasquez and Jhony Brito in exchange for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Higashioka slashed .236/.274/.413 with 10 homers and 34 RBI across 260 plate appearances last season -- his best season at the plate since 2020. However, with Luis Campusano virtually locked in as San Diego's main backstop, the 33-year-old Higashioka will have to compete with Brett Sullivan for a backup role.
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt had largely been operating in a timeshare at catcher since the All-Star break, but both backstops are likely to see their opportunities take hits down the stretch after the Yankees called up catching prospect Austin Wells from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Wells is making his third straight start behind the dish Sunday and should see the majority of the starts at catcher for the rest of the season.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Not in lineup Wednesday
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Higashioka is out of the lineup Wednesday at Detroit.
Higashioka slugged a solo home run in the Yankees' defeat of the Tigers on Tuesday, but he'll take a seat Wednesday as Ben Rortvedt handles the catching duties for New York. Higashioka had made three straight starts behind the plate.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Swats another homer
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Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday in a 4-2 win against the Tigers.
HIgashioka accounted for New York's second run of the contest with his fifth-inning solo homer. The long ball was the second in three games for the backstop and his third over his past seven contests, though all have been solo shots. With Ben Rortvedt slashing a measly .122/.246/.265 on the campaign, Higashioka has settled into the primary catcher role for the Yankees, starting each of the team's past three games.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Goes deep Sunday
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Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Rays.
Higashioka and DJ LeMahieu hit back-to-back-back jacks off Zack Littell in the third inning. In his age-33 season, Higashioka has tallied a career-high 32 RBI and is just two home runs away from a new best mark in that category. For the year, he's slashing .231/.269/.404 with nine homers, 21 runs scored and a 12:60 BB:K in 224 plate appearances.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Swats homer Sunday
Rotowire
Higashioka went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's loss to Boston.
Higashioka got the start behind the dish and put the Yankees on the board with his third-inning, game-tying solo shot. The Yankees don't seem to have committed to either Higashioka or Ben Rortvedt as their primary catcher, as they've both seen spurts of starts followed by consecutive contests on the bench recently. Between the pair, Higashioka is putting up better offensive numbers in August, slashing .250/.323/.464 with two homers and seven RBI compared to Rortvedt's .077/.200/.192 slash that includes one homer and just one RBI.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Sits for second straight
Rotowire
Higashioka finds himself on the bench for the second time in three games Saturday against the Red Sox.
Higashioka has started just two of the last six games, though that follows a stretch in which he started three straight. His .230/.267/.378 slash line isn't exactly starting catcher material, so he'll likely continue to split time with Ben Rortvedt down the stretch with Jose Trevino (wrist) done for the year.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Out of Tuesday's lineup
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Higashioka is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Atlanta.
Higashioka has a .683 OPS through nine games in August and will begin Tuesday's contest in the dugout. Ben Rortvedt will step in behind the plate to catch for Luis Severino.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Atop depth chart again
Rotowire
Higashioka is catching and batting ninth for the Yankees on Saturday against Miami, marking the third straight game that he has started behind the plate.
Early in the week it appeared that Higashioka had fallen behind Ben Rortvedt on the depth chart after sitting four times in a span of six games, but that trend has since reversed with the former logging three straight starts at catcher. Higashioka may have helped his case the last time he began a contest on the bench, as he came on as a pinch hitter Aug. 8 against the White Sox and slugged a two-run homer. The veteran added three hits and a pair of RBI in Friday's win over the Marlins, so manager Aaron Boone may be riding the hot bat as the Yankees attempt to move into playoff position. While Higashioka hasn't been great this season with a .235/.274/.390 slash line, seven homers, 30 RBI and a 27.7 percent strikeout rate, Rortvedt is slashing a measly .107/.265/.143 with no homers and one RBI, though he does boast an impressive 17.6 percent walk rate.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Losing work to Rortvedt
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the White Sox.
Higashioka is sitting for the fourth time in six games and may be falling into the weak side of a timeshare at catcher with Ben Rortvedt. Since top backstop Jose Trevino (wrist) went down with a season-ending injury shortly after the All-Star break, Higashioka has produced a .537 OPS while striking out at a 32.4 percent rate over 12 games.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: On bench Thursday
Rotowire
Higashioka is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Astros.
Ben Rortvedt will get a second straight start at catcher for the Yankees after recording his first major-league hit since May 20 in Wednesday's win over the Rays. Higashioka should still be in line for the bulk of playing time down the stretch.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: On bench Wednesday
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Higashioka is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.
Ben Rortvedt will start behind the plate and bat ninth after Higashioka went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Tuesday as his season slash line fell to .225/.259/.376. Higashioka should still be the Yankees' primary catcher the rest of the way with Jose Trevino (wrist) officially done for the year.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Sitting Monday
Rotowire
Higashioka is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.
Ben Rortvedt will get the nod behind the plate while Higashioka rests for the series opener. Higashioka started at catcher in the final two games of the Yankees' series with the Orioles over the weekend, going 4-for-8 with a solo home run and an additional run.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Bursts out of slump
Rotowire
Higashioka went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 8-3 win over the Orioles.
After entering Saturday's contest 2-for-24 (.083) in his last 11 appearances, Higashioka delivered a trio of hits, including a solo homer off Cole Irvin in the sixth. The outing was much-needed for Higashioka, who assumed primary catching duties earlier this week with Jose Trevino (wrist) undergoing season-ending surgery but had gone hitless since receiving the starting job. Though Ben Rortvedt could push Higashioka for catching duties if his struggles at the plate continue, Saturday's outing likely earned Higashioka more opportunities to cement himself as the clear No. 1 option.
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Takes over as primary backstop
Rotowire
Higashioka will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Royals.
Higashioka will be making his fourth start in five games and looks poised to serve as the Yankees' top backstop after Jose Trevino was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier in the weekend with a wrist injury that will require season-ending surgery. Over 165 plate appearances this season, Higashioka has hit .227 while providing a modicum of pop (five home runs). Ben Rortvedt will serve as Higashioka's understudy for the time being but could get a look in the No. 1 role if Higashioka's high-strikeout tendencies send his batting average further south.
Higashioka went 3-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored in Sunday's loss against the Cubs.
Higashioka paired up with Anthony Volpe in the sixth inning for back-to-back home runs, a stretch that resulted in opposing starter Kyle Hendricks getting pulled from the game. Though the long ball was Higashioka's fifth of the season, it was his second in his last four games, a stretch in which he's hitting 6-for-11 (.545).
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Yankees' Kyle Higashioka: Goes deep Monday
Rotowire
Higashioka went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and a double in Monday's 6-3 victory versus the Orioles.
Higashioka followed Anthony Volpe's fifth-inning solo shot with one of his own to help the Yankees rally from an early deficit. The long ball was the backstop's first since May 13, a span of 34 games. Higashioka went deep 10 times in each of the past two seasons but may have trouble reaching that mark this year, as he's tallied just four homers with more than half of the campaign in the rearview mirror.
