The Cincinnati Reds have been busy in free agency of late. Most of it, though, has been on the minor league free agency side of things. They’ve kept that going, signing P.J. Higgins to a minor league deal in free agency. He’s coming back to the Reds organization after spending the 2024 season in Triple-A Louisville with the club.
P.J. Higgins has spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues. In 2021 and 2022 he played in 83 combined games for the Chicago Cubs. Most of that came in 2022 when he hit .229/.310/.383 for Chicago while seeing time at catcher, 1st base, and 3rd base. Those are the same three spots he played in 2024 while with the Bats in Triple-A.
The 31-year-old has hit well in the past in Triple-A, but had some struggles in 2024 at the plate. Prior to joining the Reds organization he had hit .313/.394/.490 in 249 games at the level while playing in the Cubs and Diamondbacks organizations. Last season with the Reds he hit .259/.320/.385 in Triple-A. His strikeout rate was the highest he’d ever had in the minor leagues for a season, and his power dropped off quite a bit compared to his past few seasons.
After losing nearly all of their catchers between Double-A and the big leagues to free agency after the 2024 season, the Reds have been able to pick up plenty of depth at the position in free agency and the trade for Jose Trevino. Higgins addition gives them a little more depth at the upper levels for when the almost for-sure scenario of when a catcher gets injured and there needs to be depth and movement in the farm system or even at the major league level behind the plate. Last season in Louisville it was first base that Higgins played the most often, and he would just occasionally put on the catchers gear where he started 27 of his 134 games.
You can see the career stats for P.J. Higgins here.
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