It Pains Me To Say It, But The Tigers NEED To Cut Ties With Eric Haase

I rarely call for a player to be demoted or released. As annoying as it is watching bad Major League players (I've seen plenty on the Tigers over the last several years), there's typically a reason why they are there. You can complain about the roster's construction and lack of depth within the organization. Still, typically if you send a player down, it's because you believe somebody in the minor leagues is a better option. This happened several years ago during the Covid year. The Tigers threw Daniel Norris and Ivan Nova to the wolves for the first few weeks when Tarik, Skubal, and Casey Mize were wasting away with the taxi squad. And while Mize and Skubal took their lumps at the big league level, they were better options than whatever below-average veterans the Tigers were throwing out there to begin the season. But in the case of Eric Haase, it's different. I'm usually in favor of sending a guy down if I'm confident that somebody in the minor leagues is better, but this is one of those rare instances where it doesn't matter. Eric Haase should not be on a major league ball club right now. 

I don't even get much joy out of writing blogs like this. It just feels mean. If somebody wrote a blog claiming that I don't deserve to be employed by Barstool (I'm surprised nobody has yet to), it would destroy me. Over the last several years, Eric Haase has been one of the few lone bright spots for the Tigers organization. He was claimed off waivers from Cleveland in 2020, and by the end of 2021, he was this team's starting catcher. He didn't up solid numbers on a bad team. He was a well above-average hitting catcher. His numbers weren't earth-shattering, but he put up a 113 OPS+ for the Tigers a season ago. Keep in mind their team OPS+ was 82. He was probably their best hitter a season ago. He's done good things, and if I felt like he was just a run-of-the-mill bad player, I'd shrug my shoulders. The Tigers have a lot of those. But Eric Haase is not bad right now. Eric Haase is unplayable. The numbers on the season speak for themselves. Among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances, Haase ranks dead last in on-base percentage, OPS, and wRC+. I could end my argument there, but his numbers since May 9 are even more horrifying. In 49 games, he has a batting average of .140 and an OPS of .372. That is the longest and worst stretch I've ever seen by a professional baseball player who didn't get cut or sent down. 

The general belief is that Haase remains on the roster because the young pitchers on the team like pitching to him. The Tigers have a better record when Haase is behind the plate, though he grades out to be a subpar pitch framer, and his arm behind home plate is weak. Even if he were an elite game-caller, I'd still favor cutting ties with him. Having a catcher on the roster strictly for defense only goes so far. A team like the Houston Astros can afford to employ Martin Maldonado because he's in a lineup with José Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez, and Alex Bregman. They have enough firepower. The Tigers do not. And it's been made worse by the fact that Haase has come to the dish in big moments over the last several weeks and started every count down 0-2 after swinging at pitches at his feet. 

The Tigers have reached a point with Eric Haase similar to that with Jonathan Schoop. The Tigers didn't DFA Jonathan Schoop because they believed Zack Short would be putting up a .800 OPS, but sometimes any alternative is better. And that's where the Tigers are out with Haase right now. Knowing how my reverse jinx works, Haase will probably have three hits, including a home run today. I don't care. These numbers are insanely awful, yet we continually see the Tigers employ guys who put up similar statistics. Donny Sands is the AAA catcher right now. I'm willing to venture that he's probably not very good. His numbers down in AAA are very unimpressive, but I'd rather watch the new guy struggle than watch Haase swinging blindfolded. It sucks, but it's part of the business. I'm linking to his good moments to cover how bad I feel about this. We are talking about the guy that caught Turnbull's no-hitter. Eric Haase is partially responsible for changing my life. He's had some good moments here, but it's run its course.