The Tigers announced today that they have acquired catcher Eric Haase from the Indians for cash considerations. To create roster space, they designated righty Dario Agrazal for assignment.
Haase was recently designated by the Cleveland organization, so it’s not surprising to see him change hands. The 27-year-old has seen brief MLB action in each of the past two seasons. He turned in a power-heavy .226/.315/.517 batting line with 28 home runs in 401 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019.
Agrazal is himself back in DFA limbo after the Pirates designated and traded him to Detroit back in November. The 24-year-old received a long look in 2019 but managed only a 4.91 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in his 73 1/3 frames.
Though his ERA didn’t match it, Agrazal showed signs of excellence in 2019. I wonder where he’ll land?
yeah, the more i look at Agrazal’s numbers the more I like. someone should get a good deal with him.
Feels like a Toronto pick up
Agrazal’s issues was when he started the 3rd time through the lineup. Unless it was just not his day, he usually gave you a great 1st time through and pretty good the 2nd time through. When he started the 3rd time through, the opposition almost always figure him out and that is when he would get into trouble. I think he would be a much better and effective pitcher out of the pen instead of being a starter. Has @DarkSide830 and trib4life both said, he did show some signs of excellence and was fun to watch and fun to watch.
I’m guessing he ends up back with Pirates again if he becomes a free agent. It seems like an annual thing.
Maybe he will be a reliable middle relief guy in the future. He pitched pretty good until inning 4 or 5 when he started.
The guy has poise and guts.
I liked Dario with the Pirates and thought that they gave up on him too soon.He was clearly better than the AAA relievers that they had to use last year because there was no pitching depth.
The take on him is correct- probably a four inning pitcher but a fairly good one.I would not say excellent.
When you think of it he would do well on the Rays with their pitching philosophy.
I would like to see the Pirates get him back for depth but they seem to be so inactive as to be inert.
Is this the son of the former MLB catcher that caught for Cleveland?
No, that was Ron Hassey
The slowest baserunner in Cleveland history.
Did you see Mike Hargrove play???
@sufferfortribe, Uhhhhh no. That distinct title would go to Cleveland’s current tandem of catchers. It pains me to watch them attempt to run.
Two very valid points. I would have paid to watch them race to see who would have lost.
I might have rather seen Haase back up Perez for the league minimum than Leon for $2 million.
Leon is clearly a better defender, but he’s basically an automatic out; Haase has decent power for a catcher and is a capable defender. If he got more than a few scattered at bats here and there, I think he could be a serviceable backup or spot starter.
I tend to agree. I don’t understand he Haase DFA and eventual trade. Controllability alone makes me prefer Haase to Leon
Looking at Detroit’s roster you would think taking a chance on Agrazal would be a better option than a minor league catcher.
The Tigers just got their primary starting catcher, and for nothing… this guy is a totally competent player who has never been given an opportunity. He’s only 27, he has massive power for a catcher, just like most modern power hitters, he strikes out a ton, but he takes enough walks, he looks to have a strong arm based on his minor league caught stealing stats, 34% lifetime mark… his MLB sample size is only 32 AB’s… CLE screwed up.
You are dead wrong. He’s a stiff
Not a lot of players in the minors get a chance since Tito came around.
Mike Hess
i am not convinced romine can hold down the fort as the primary catcher and we’ve seen about all there needs to be seen from greiner. i think greiner should be in toledo but that cuts into jake rogers development. either way we’ll see about 5 tigers catchers in 2020.
Haase won’t hit for any power or average in Tiger Stadium
Pretty good getting $50k for Haase
That’s a whole lot of hate right there… why’s he so bad in your eyes? He hit .226/.315/.517/.832 with 26 HR last season… that’s adequate production from a catcher. There are few top echelon catchers in the game, not enough to go around. When your options are starting Jake Rogers, who stunk last season and has been a lesser hitter than Haase in the minors, Austin Romine, far more suited for a back up role, also a lesser hitter, and Grayson Greiner, who is injured but showed next to nothing last year, I’d say the job is up for grabs and I think Haase ultimately wins it.
Comerica Park, FYI, yielded above-average park factor in almost all hitting categories to right handed batters last season, so the part about the stadium hurting him, that’s nonsense. swishanalytics.com/mlb/mlb-park-factors
Good for the Tigers and Eric. He can be afforded an opportunity in Detroit that he wasn’t going to get in Cleveland. There’s a lot of swing and miss in his offensive game, but he brings a ton of power. Offensively he reminds me of Kelly Shoppach. Defensively, the best way to describe him is sound. He was praised by Cleveland’s organization for his ability to handle a pitching staff and call a game. He happens to control the running game fairly well also.
If he can transfer his AAA numbers over to the big league’s then Detroit has done very well here. He was just never given an opportunity in Cleveland. I hope he finds success.
I met him when he played in Akron a few years ago and even after the game he took some time to talk to us. He was a really cool guy, and I’m rooting for him too.
Could not agree more with your statement. Great pick for the Tigers
Imagine that. The Dolan’s chose to take money from the Tigers for a guy that has the potential to be a pretty good major league player at a position that is hard to find quality at.
Hey Twins organization, you might be able to get Roberto Perez from the Indians if you give the Dolan’s a few thousand dollars and a box of Cuban cigars?
White Sox, you might be able to get Bo Naylor if you give the Dolan’s a few thousand dollars and a tin of caviar?
I assume you are being sarcastic, right? The Indians opted for Sandy Leon as their back-up catcher. They avoided arbitration and are paying Leon $2mm + incentives. Much more than the league minimum that Haase would have earned. So the Indians are spending more than they had to on that position.
The Indians had to DFA Haase to clear a roster spot for Hernandez (who signed for $6mm). Since they didn’t have a roster spot for Haase, they either had to trade him or he could be claimed or become a FA…
Clearly back-up catchers are not “ownership-level decisions”. This was made by the baseball operations team.
The Indians front office has had an amazing recent track record of developing young talent. They are not going to win on every move and some deals appear strange to fans.. personally, this deal seems odd to me. But the Indians definitely deserve some credit on their ability to identify and develop young talent.
This PU relegates Greiner to organizational depth. If Rogers isn’t ready and won”t likely will be, it’s Romine/Haase. It’s an organizational screw-up to be in a position to have to get nothing but cash for a catcher with Haase’s power unless he’s a defensive liability, which could indeed be the case.
Just did some research – Haase is a hometown guy from Westland, MI, grades out as “average” defensively and K’s a LOT @ a Minor League career average of every 2.5 PA but doesn’t take called strikes and can actually take a walk.
Kind of surprised that Dario Agrazal cleared waivers, but glad to see him stay with the Tigers organization.