Kyle Higashioka

Kyle Higashioka is going to spend the rest of his life as a trivia answer for New York Yankees fans -- "who else went to San Diego in the Juan Soto trade?" -- and that's a little bit of a shame, because he was a lot more than a throw-in. Seven years, two no-hitters caught, one genuinely wild journey through the minors to get there. He never hit enough to be a full-time starter. He didn't need to. Pitchers loved throwing to him, and in the end that's most of the job description.

Nine Years to Get Here

The Yankees took Higashioka in the 7th round of the 2008 draft, 230th overall, out of Edison High School in Huntington Beach, signing him for $500,000. He didn't debut in the majors until April 10, 2017. Do that math -- nine years grinding through the system as a glove-first catcher nobody outside the organization was paying attention to. Most guys drafted that late, that young, don't stick around that long (most don't get much further than a cup of coffee before they're released and selling insurance). He did, and it wasn't because the bat was doing him any favors.

Cole's Guy

The real turn came in 2020, when Gerrit Cole arrived in the Bronx and Higashioka became his personal catcher -- the guy Cole wanted back there on his best days. That same October, Aaron Boone started Higashioka over Gary Sanchez in four of five ALDS games against Tampa Bay (Higashioka even took Blake Snell deep in one of them). It wasn't a one-off. By 2021, Higashioka was catching the overwhelming majority of Cole's innings, and when the Yankees needed someone behind the plate for a win-or-go-home AL Wild Card Game against Boston that October, Boone started Higashioka over Sanchez again. The Yankees lost 6-2 anyway (of course they did), but by then everybody already knew who the team trusted behind the dish.

The No-Hitter Guy, Twice

If you want the case for Higashioka in one stat line, it's this: he caught two no-hitters in pinstripes. On May 19, 2021, he was behind the plate for Corey Kluber's no-no in Texas -- 9 innings, 9 strikeouts, one walk, a 2-0 win. Then on June 28, 2023, he caught something even rarer: Domingo German's perfect game against the Athletics, 27 up and 27 down, the first perfecto in the majors since 2012 and just the 24th in MLB history. "I kind of always felt like of anyone, he has a really good chance to do something like this," Higashioka said afterward, "and for it all to come together tonight is just amazing." That's a heck of a resume for a guy whose best offensive season, in 2023, still only topped out at .236.

The Trade, and Life After

On December 6, 2023, the Yankees sent Higashioka to San Diego along with Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, and Drew Thorpe for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham -- the biggest trade of the Cashman era. It's fair to call it a deal the Yankees would make every single time, but that doesn't make Higashioka's exit any less notable. He'd been in the organization longer than almost anyone else that got moved that winter.

He answered with a career year in San Diego -- 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 2024, both career highs -- before signing a two-year, $13.5 million deal with the Rangers that December. Funny enough, Texas is the same team he no-hit as a Yankee. Baseball's small like that.

Nine years in the minors to get here, two no-hitters caught once he did, and a permanent line in the Soto trade write-ups whether he likes it or not. Not bad for a bat that never really showed up.