ARLINGTON – The Rangers have ruled out the possibility of Kyle Higashioka returning to the field as a catcher this season, but he may still have a way to help down the stretch.
Higashioka, out since July 21 with a right flexor strain, has been assigned to Triple-A Round Rock on a rehab assignment as a right-handed pinch hitter or DH option against lefties. The Rangers have recently been using Logan O’Hoppe as a DH option. O’Hoppe, 3 for 11 since joining the Rangers, is hitting .212 for the season with a .568 OPS in 268 major league plate appearances. Higashioka is hitting .218 with a .676 OPS. Perhaps of more significance, Higashioka has an .841 OPS against lefties compared to .646 for O’Hoppe.
Right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi recovered well from his first bullpen session in a month and will increase to a 40-pitch session on Saturday. Providing he comes out of that with no issues, the Rangers would likely have him throw a live batting practice/simulated game as the next step.
Third baseman Josh Jung, dealing with a calf issue, ran for a fourth consecutive day, increasing the number of times he ran the arc of the infield, a precursor to making the sharper turns on the bases. The hope is he will be able to run the bases by the end of the weekend. That could put him in a position to begin a rehab assignment early next week.