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TAMPA — It turns out the Yankees’ blockbuster with the Twins did more for Kyle Higashioka than just open up more regular playing time — it also gave him a special hitting coach.
The trade that sent Gary Sanchez to Minnesota landed the Yankees Josh Donaldson, whom Higashioka has modeled his swing after since 2015. So when Donaldson arrived in Yankees camp two weeks ago, Higashioka sought him out to pick his brain about hitting mechanics because they speak the same language.
“It’s been rewarding, I’d say,” Higashioka said.
So have the early results.
Higashioka drilled his fourth home run in his sixth game of the spring on Tuesday at Steinbrenner Field as his power surge continued in a 14-2 win over the Phillies.
“He’s got power,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He works hard on his hitting and he doesn’t want to just to be known as a great defensive catcher. He wants to do his thing offensively, too.”
If Higashioka can translate that power to the regular season — and do so with more consistency than he has in the past — it would be a welcome bonus on top of the value he already provides defensively.
In 2015, when Higashioka was in his eighth year in the Yankees’ farm system and still only at High-A, he decided to revamp his swing. Donaldson was on his way to an MVP that year with the Blue Jays and because he was similar in stature to Higashioka, the catcher decided to use him as an example.
“The way his body and mechanics work, I was impressed by the amount of power he can generate for being an average-sized major league player,” Higashioka said. “I realized I couldn’t do the huge leg lift and all that. But the underlying principles were the same.”
The new approach led to a breakout season for Higashioka in 2016, landing him in the majors by 2017.
Higashioka has shown spurts of that power in The Bronx — including hitting 10 homers in 193 at-bats last season — but he will have an opportunity this season to show what he can do with an extended role with Sanchez no longer around.
“I know he’s relishing that opportunity,” Boone said.
Now 7-for-15 this spring, Higashioka is also taking advantage of having Donaldson a few lockers away from him in the Yankees clubhouse.
Higashioka said he had not spoken to Donaldson about swing mechanics before they were teammates — especially not last season, when Donaldson called out Gerrit Cole for his use of sticky substances.
“Because of the whole, you know, I wasn’t supposed to say hi to him or anything at the plate,” Higashioka said. “But I think we’re past that.”
And if Higashioka’s swing goes astray during the season, he’ll have a teammate to help get him back on track.
“The approach is where he really excels,” Higashioka said. “There’s not many guys in the game that think about the at-bat in the way that he does and about picking and choosing times to do damage. He’s just so smart mentally about hitting that it’s just such a great asset to have.
“Just having him around is going to be good for me.”
Additional reporting by Dan Martin
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