Free Agency Fallout: Padres Competitive Offer Not Enough to…

The San Diego Padres tried to keep catcher Kyle Higashioka, general manager A.J. Preller said at the Winter Meetings this week.

Higashioka was one of the top catchers available on the free-agent market until he and the Texas Rangers agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million deal ($5.75M in 2025, $6.75M in 2026) that includes a $7 million mutual option for 2027 with a $1 million buyout.

Higashioka is coming off his best power season yet. Despite a .220 batting average, he hit 17 home runs in 84 games, finishing the year with a .476 slugging percentage. His bat also proved clutch in October, as he homered in both games of the Padres’ Wild Card Series sweep of the Braves and added another in the NLDS against the Dodgers.

The Padres did what they could to re-sign him, as Preller said the team made a “very competitive offer” to bring him back.

Higashioka is expected to split time with Rangers starting catcher Jonah Heim, who has started 131 games in each of the past two seasons. While adding another catcher was a key priority for Texas, the main focus remains on strengthening the pitching staff, both in the rotation and bullpen.

“This is a really good squad, obviously,” Higashioka said via Zoom. “I think everyone will probably say that they underperformed last year, but I think the team as a whole is a fantastic roster. Chris Young, this offseason, he made it very clear how committed they are to winning. It’s my job to play well when I’m in there. Obviously [Bruce Bochy] is going to make the lineup. We’ve got Jonah here, who’s a fantastic catcher. He’s a guy that I really like watching play. So I think for me, it’s about trying to make the team better in whatever way possible.”

While the Rangers shored up their catching tandem, the Padres are still searching for someone to replace him. That could mean Brett Sullivan will see more playing time, or Preller could swing a trade.

Regardless, the Rangers seems to be thrilled to have another veteran catcher like Higashioka.

“Specific to Kyle, again, he was a target for us,” general manager Ross Fenstermaker emphasized. “You can never quite predict the order of operations on how things play out. You have to let the market dictate where you go with that. But we knew going into the offseason that we wanted to add Kyle. We had spent a lot of time doing background work on him leading into free agency, and to be able to do that early-ish in the offseason as one of our first moves kind of set us up as a domino effect for other things that we think we can accomplish.”