2023 New York Yankees in Review: Kyle Higashioka

The 33-year old catcher kicks off this new series.

As the New York Yankees’ brutally disappointing 2023 season nears its end, there’s plenty of evaluations that need to be done.

While the team’s season was a flop, not every individual Yankee had the same experience. Some players contributed to the disaster, while others shined on the field.

As such, this series will review each Yankee’s individual season and assign a final grade to each player. The player will primarily be judged by their on-field performance, although other factors like injuries, off the field behavior, and contract situations will be in play.

Also, the player must have played at least seven games with the Yankees this season, so players who missed the season (such as Frankie Montas) will not be eligible. However, players who were (or are) on different teams this season will qualify if they played at least seven games with the Yankees.

Prospects who spent most of the season in the minors, such as Jasson Dominguez, Everson Pereira, Austin Wells, Oswald Peraza, and Estevan Florial will also be judged by their minor league seasons.

With that said, this series will begin with the team’s primary position players, then bench players, then starting pitchers, before finishing with the bullpen.

Kyle Higashioka

Position: Catcher

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Age: 33

MLB Experience: 7 seasons (2017-present with NYY)

2022 Stats: (as of September 22) 90 GP, 251 PA, 23 R, 10 HR, 34 RBI, .232 AVG, .272 OBP, .408 SLG, .680 OPS, 83 OPS+, 84 wRC+, 1.6 fWAR, -0.4 bWAR

Higashioka has seen a substantial increase in his playing time since 2020. After playing in 67 games in 2021, he played in at least 80 games in 2022 and 2023, and has played a career high 90 games and counting in 2023.

Known as being a weak hitter but a good defensive catcher, Higashioka recorded his third straight season with at least 10 homers, is setting career highs in on-base percentage and OPS, and currently has a .500 slugging percentage against left-handed pitching. However, by any metric, his offense is decidedly below average.

The best thing that could be said about Higashioka this season was that he was available to play. Fellow catcher Ben Rortvedt was injured to begin the season, while Jose Trevino, who won the Platinum Glove in 2022, struggled through an injury-shortened season that culminated in him having wrist surgery.

But despite this availability, Higashioka’s playing time was somewhat inconsistent. After Trevino’s season-ending surgery, Rortvedt would receive most of the catching duties in August, including the role of Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher. Austin Wells would be called up in September, and while Higashioka would subsequently leapfrog Rortvedt in playing time, Wells has received the lion’s share of catching duties.

Entering 2024, the Yankees will have a logjam at catcher, as Wells will likely be on the major league roster for good and Trevino will be fully recovered from his surgery. As such, Higashioka could be on the chopping block during the offseason and/or Spring Training.

Obviously, with a .272 on-base percentage and a 84 wRC+, Higashioka’s hitting isn’t going to do himself any favors. So his steady defensive presence would continue to be his calling card.

However, his defense has regressed from last year. Quite a bit.

Higashioka’s greatest strength as a catcher is pitch framing, and that is still prevalent; he ranks in the 91st percentile in framing on Baseball Savant. But from 2022 to this season, he went from the 84th percentile to the 45th in fielding run value, and his blocks above average and caught stealing above average took significant hits, going from the 62nd and 93rd percentiles (respectively) to the 3rd percentile (ranking among the worst in the league). Having five passed balls, six throwing errors, and throwing out only 14% of base stealers will do that.

Compare that to Trevino, who ranked in the 79th percentile in blocks above average and the 49th percentile in caught stealing, while playing with a torn ligament in his wrist. Higashioka’s greatest strength is supposed to be defense, but he’s clearly outshined by Trevino in that regard. Coupled with Wells’s offensive potential, Higashioka finds himself in an inconvenient position.

Ultimately, Higashioka’s 2023 season may not have been awful, but it likely showed the Yankee front office that it is time to move on. He remains an unproductive hitter at the plate, while his defense has taken a step back, especially in regards to throwing out baserunners.

Higashioka is a clubhouse favorite and has provided plenty of good memories, which included a walk-off double against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 10. But his mediocre 2023 season, coupled with the fact that he has just one year left of team control and the fact that he’s approaching his mid-30s, could very well be his last in pinstripes.

Grade: C

Next Player: Anthony Rizzo