With Gary Sanchez firmly entrenched as the Yankees’ starting catcher and the front office believing Kyle Higashioka can handle the backup duties, which new Tigers signee Austin Romine performed very well, there was a need for an experienced catcher at Triple-A. Romine recently signed a one-year deal worth $4.1 million with the Tigers.
Higashioka, a .164 career hitter in the big leagues with six home runs in 146 at-bats, gets high marks from the analytical arm of the Yankees’ organization for his pitch framing. Higashioka batted .278 with 20 home runs, 56 RBIs and posted a .929 OPS in 70 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this past season.
Friday, the Yankees signed Erik Kratz, who will turn 40 in June, to a minor league contract. Barring injuries to Sanchez, who was on the injured list twice last year due to lower leg problems, or Higashioka, Kratz will start the season at SWB.
Kratz played in four games with the Yankees in 2017. He has played in 316 games in parts of 10 seasons with nine teams and has a .205 career batting average.
He appeared in 46 games for SWB last season and 17 in 2018.