Kyle Higashioka

After toiling in the Yankees' minor-league system for over a decade, Higashioka was named Gary Sanchez's backup coming out of spring training in 2020 and ultimately took over the starting role in the postseason. The switch was more a result of Sanchez's futility than Higashioka's performance, though the latter held his own with a .250/.250/.521 slash line and four homers in 48 regular-season PA. Three of the homers came in one magical mid-September game, which proved Higashioka does have some pop in his bat. That said, the backstop is apparently immune to taking free passes -- incredibly, he did not walk a single time in 104 PA over the last two seasons -- and has a career .246 batting average in the minors. He's clearly the superior defensive option over Sanchez, but the lack of offensive upside will likely keep Higashioka in a backup role.

HIgashioka slugged .581 with 20 homers at Triple-A in 2019, thereby besting his home-run total in the minors from 2016-2018 by one. He has shown little ability to hit major-league pitching in the cups of coffee the Yankees have given him the past three seasons; his job has been as the third catcher during September, or when Gary Sanchez and/or Austin Romine are hurt and the club needs another body. He doesn't have the tools necessary to be the primary catcher on a big-league roster and is now in a make-or-break situation since he is out of minor-league options and turning 30 years old. He will have to make the Yankees' roster out of camp or find another organization looking for a caddy catcher.

Higashioka spent most of the second half of the season on the Yankees' roster with Gary Sanchez missing time with a groin injury. He found himself the subject of a fun anecdote, becoming just the second Yankee in history after Alfonso Soriano to have each of his first three hits for the team go for home runs, but his performance was quite forgettable after that, as he finished with a .167/.241/.319 line (and no more homers) in 79 plate appearances. Throw in his 20 plate appearances in 2017 and his career line sits at .133/.212/.256. The 28-year-old projected as a mediocre backup as a prospect, with below-average defense and a decent bat. If the bat never comes around, he'll remain nothing more than a third catcher. He'll likely have to bide his time at Triple-A to begin 2019, and he's unlikely to excite should at-bats open up.

2016 served as a breakout campaign of sorts in the minor league ranks for the 26-year-old Higashioka. The catcher was limited to a total of 24 games between 2013 and 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and he was slow to shake off the rust after that, but he found his stroke to the tune of 21 home runs, 81 RBI and a combined .276/.337/.511 slash line across both Double-A and Triple-A this year. Though he's always projected as a good power hitter, it's difficult to determine how much stock should be put into his 2016 season, as he floundered at the lower levels of the minors in the early parts of his career. Additionally, a sudden and sustained emergence like this is uncommon for someone who will turn 27 in the first month of the 2017 season. Higashioka was added to the 40-man roster for Rule 5 protection, and will compete with Austin Romine for the honor of backing up Gary Sanchez.