Hey everyone, I wanted to talk about Kyle Higashioka today. I’ve been keeping an eye on this guy for a while, and his journey has been pretty interesting, to say the least.
So, first off, I started noticing Higashioka back in 2017. He was brought up to the New York Yankees as their second catcher. I remember reading that this happened because Gary Sanchez got injured. That was my first “aha” moment with him. I started digging a little deeper into his background and found out that he’s a fourth-generation Japanese-American. I thought that was pretty cool, and it made me want to follow his career more closely.
As time went on, it became clear that he was more of a third-string catcher for the Yankees. I read an article in 2019 that pointed this out, and honestly, it made me feel for the guy. He was 29 at the time, and it seemed like he was stuck in this backup role.
Then, fast forward to 2023, the Yankees started this whole “youth movement” thing, and Higashioka, now 33, was still there. It got me thinking about what his future held. I knew there were some rumors about him potentially being traded.
Then the news hit – he did get traded to the Texas Rangers! I saw this announcement and was like, “Wow, this is a big change for him.” They were talking about a two-year contract, which sounded like a great opportunity. I saw he signed a contract from 2025 to 2027, and I think the value is $13,500,000. Not bad for him. After that, I watched a video interview, and he could speak Japanese. This talent will definitely help him in the new team.
- Observed him going from a backup catcher to getting a fresh start with a new team.
- Felt that he had a lot of potential.
- Read articles and announcements to piece together his story.
- Saw him speaking Japanese in an interview.
Here’s what I think is important:
This whole thing with Kyle Higashioka made me realize that sometimes a change of scenery is all someone needs to really shine. I’m excited to see what he does with the Rangers.
