The Cleveland Indians have traded catcher Eric Haase to the Detroit Tigers. The move comes after Cleveland designated him for assingment.
Eric Haase is headed to The Motor City. The Indians designated Haase for assignment at the end of December and found a trade partner Wednesday in Detroit. The Indians received cash in exchange for Haase.
Eric Haase will have a chance to see playing time at the Major League level back home. Haase was born in Westland, Michigan and graduated from Divine Child High School in Dearborn. The other catchers on the Tigers roster that Haase will compete with are Austin Romine and Grayson Greiner.
Once the Cleveland Indians acquired Sandy Leon the writing was on the wall for Haase. This made back-to-back offseason where the Tribe acquired a catcher instead of opting for Haase, (Cleveland acquired Kevin Plawecki from the Mets prior to last season). With Haase only being average defensively, Cleveland explored other options for a backup catcher.
Haase only has a handful of appearances at the Major League level. 34 appearances over 19 games in 2018 and 2019. Haase slashed .094/.147/.188 with an OPS of .335. Haase has a much better track record in the minors, slashing .243/.316/.477/.794 with 130 home runs, 147 doubles, 28 triples, 251 walks, and 399 RBIs. Maybe Eric Haase will get an opportunity to play at least on a semi-regular basis in Detroit. Detroit is not expected to contend for quite some time and can afford to take fliers on players. It seems like taking a flier on a hometown kid in Haase is right up their alley.
