The Rangers non-tendered catcher Jonah Heim last week, but not because they had a younger option to whom they plan to hand the reins. Veteran Kyle Higashioka is signed through 2026, but president of baseball operations Chris Young said this week that he still plans to explore the trade and free agent markets to bring in some additional help behind the dish, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News writes.
It’s not clear how heavy a workload Higashioka will shoulder in 2026, but he’ll turn 36 in April and logged career-high marks in games played (94) and plate appearances (327) last year. The longtime Yankee backstop slashed .241/.291/.403 with 11 home runs in that time. Defensive Runs Saved credited him as an above-average catcher, while Statcast had his glovework closer to average.
Presumably, whoever is brought into the fold would be expected to play in at least a 50-50 split, as it seems unlikely that Higashioka would be in line for a major boost in playing time at age 36. Whether it was due to the workload or was simply a matter of happenstance, Higashioka hit just .174/.255/.283 with an uncharacteristically high 29.4% strikeout rate from Sept. 1 onward.
Unfortunately for Young and the Rangers, it’s not a great time to be in the market for catching help. The free agent class is headlined by J.T. Realmuto, though the incumbent Phillies will make a strong push to retain him. (The Red Sox are also among the interested parties.) Victor Caratini presents a credible starter or half of a 50-50 timeshare. Beyond that, the open market is comprised primarily of rebound candidates — Danny Jansen, Gary Sanchez and old friend Mitch Garver among them.
The trade market doesn’t offer many clearly available alternatives. If the Twins continue their teardown, then Ryan Jeffers would surely be available ahead of his final season of club control. The Cardinals have received trade interest in their stable of catchers (Ivan Herrera, Jimmy Crooks, Pedro Pages) and recently bolstered their depth by re-signing Yohel Pozo, but there’s no urgency for them to move anyone from that bunch. It’s a similar story in Kansas City, where the Royals have Carter Jensen and Blake Mitchell behind team captain Salvador Perez. Both Jensen and Mitchell were popular asks at the trade deadline. (Perez, who recently signed an extension and has full no-trade rights, isn’t going anywhere.) The White Sox have gotten trade interest in both Edgar Quero and Kyle Teel, but there’s no rush to move either.
The Rangers, after trading Marcus Semien to the Mets in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo over the weekend, project for about $169MM in 2026 payroll, per RosterResource. That’s miles below the $225MM figure the team fielded late in 2025. Nimmo said after the trade that Young made clear to him the club isn’t entering any kind of rebuild and still plans to contend for the playoffs in 2026, so even though the plan is to scale back payroll, Young & Co. should have space for subsequent additions.
Braves will give them Sean Murphy for Corey Seager.
I don’t think the Rangers are interested in being fleeced
Rangers might take it to get out from under that giant pile of money. I like Seager too and hope they keep him.
JC Escarra for Corey Seager. Problem solved.
What happened to Danny Jansen, I really like him and Kirk together in TO
Throw in Volpe and it might even out.
Seager for Murphy trade incoming…
For those who are suggesting Seager will be traded, it won’t happen. (As a Rangers fan)
Wells for DeGrom make it happen. Rice can catch for Yankees and bring back Bellinger for 1B. Trade for Kwan now before you possibly lose out on both Bellinger and Tucker. Cashman needs to be proactive. Make moves instead of acting out of desperation.
Hopefully cards and texas can line up on a trade. Commence the cardinal rebuild
Could Tyler Stephenson be a target? Reds have Trevino and claimed Rortvedt.
Stephenson has potential, but he has injury concerns.
The Rangers could’ve claimed Rortvedt ahead of the Reds. They’d have already known they would be non-tendering Heim.
I hope we go after Quero.
Wells and Volpe for Seager and his contract. After that Yankees can acquire Murphy.
Volpe, Wells, Warren and you have a deal.
I wouldn’t miss any of them, especially if they are getting one of the best hitters in Baseball. But the Yankees probably won’t do that.
Easy deal Joey Bart for pair of relievers, need to rebuild pen
Rangers should take Parada AND Susac in the Rule 5 Draft. Former first round picks in 2022 who were blocked in with the Mets and A’s and both clubs are hopeful of slipping them through and assigning them to AAA. Parada and Susac battle it out in Spring Training. Rangers keep the winner as their 2026 backup catcher and return the other to their previous club. Might accidentally find a catcher to count on long-term!
Seager is going nowhere and according to multiple reports Braves are on his no trade list. I think perhaps they will look into Caratini or Jansen. On the trade front they should look at the Cards and White Sox catchers or Bart, Stephenson or Campusano. Jeffers might be too costly in prospects.
I am curious Rangers fans as to what you feel will happen for remaining shopping list. Obviously need a closer like Helsley, Finnegan or Jansen perhaps a rebound like Romano. They will need some combination of Armstrong, Ferguson, Kinley perhaps Beeks for high leverage along with someone like Luchessi or Soroka for Swing LR roles. I know several have Arraez, but he is bad defensively with no power. Would rather trade for B Lowe or Donovan. If budget permits a lefty masher for Carter like Hays, Lane or Andujar. They need a starter as well either, two low cost Corbin style people like May, Buehler, Monty or Corbin or they need a number 3 like Suarez, Gallen, Mahle or Giolito. I don’t think they possess the trade capital for Ryan or Gore but maybe Lodolo, Burrows, or Shane Baz might be doable. A reclamation project like Ponce or Means makes sense.
Personally, I still think Bellinger or Alonso would be great choices but $$$ likely not available considering other needs.
I’ll say Finnegan, Armstrong, Beeks, and Hays.
Beeks and Hays locks.
Sounds about right considering $$$
There’s a sense where you need some of your low cost guys to produce in order to field a contender. To that end, I think they hope on Jake Burger and pick up a cheap lefty bat again like they did with Tellez this past year.
That being said, trading for Brandon Lowe makes too much sense to ignore, especially now that Semien is gone. He’s a lefty bat for 1B who can also handle 2B.
For SP, they already have a ton of upside- deGrom, Eovaldi, Leiter, Rocker. What they need are dependable innings eaters. A reunion with Patrick Corbin makes a lot of sense, and other cheap options with a history of health. I could also see them take a run at Chris Bassitt for his dependability.
That will probably depend on if they decide to spend on a bigger RP like Helsely, etc. I feel they’ll mostly fill the RP core with cheap upside options like they did to good success this past year. They seem to always do a good job of finding diamonds in the rough for RP. But I think they also need someone with some closer experience this time around.
A trade for one of the young catchers mentioned also makes a ton of sense, but I’d guess it depends on the cost- Rangers won’t give up any of Walcott or their top Pitching prospects.
Wonder what it would take to get Amaya from the cubs
Looking over the Rangers system, it’s pretty lean outside of Walcott. Not sure if they’d be able to acquire someone like Quero, Jensen, Teel, or Herrera. Not many clear SPs, and no real power bats. I liked Mitch Bratt a lot, but he’s now a D-Back. Maybe the Cardinals would be interested in something like Crooks for Davalillo and Cauley? Still, I think the Cardinals could probably find a better deal elsewhere. Unless Leiter or perhaps Rocker were on the table.
Also, have we fully given up on Malcolm Moore?
All the chirping from fans of other teams about the Rangers trading Seager is wishful thinking on their part. The Rangers have zero need of “getting out from under his contract”. Same can be said regarding deGrom. They have sufficient payroll space to address their needs and plan to compete in 2026.
No catcher worth having is available via trade. Only free agent worth paying for but for short term only (realmuto), better to bring up a minor leaguer and let them develop
The best they have in the minors is Konner Piotto
White Sox can trade them Korey Lee.
That actually makes sense.
CHISOX, what would the probable ask for Lee?