How Giants Catching Carousel Finally Caught up with Eric Haase

The San Francisco Giants had to make another move behind the plate before the second half of the season began, and it cost their veteran his job.

San Francisco Giants catcher Eric Haase. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The San Francisco Giants have, perhaps unintentionally, had a catching carousel this season.

The value of Patrick Bailey, who was the Giants’ first-round pick in 2020 and was considered the heir apparent to Buster Posey, was wrapped up in his glove. Two Gold Gloves behind the plate couldn’t protect him when his bat continued to struggle. Earlier this season Posey — now the team’s president of baseball operations — traded him to Cleveland.

That allowed Daniel Susac, the Giants’ Rule 5 selection that made the team coming out of spring training, as the primary starter. That also allowed San Francisco to elevate Eric Haase to be his backup.

That worked fine until Susac was injured in June. San Francisco promoted Drew Cavanaugh from the minor leagues to work alongside Haase. But, at some point, a decision was coming. On Friday, the Giants made one.

Which Catcher was Squeezed Out?

San Francisco opted to designated Haase for assignment to make room for Susac, who was recovered from his low back strain. The reason was simple, and it was the same reason that the Giants moved away from Bailey — production.

Haase was slashing .162/.235/.365 with four home runs and nine RBI in 29 games. That was worse than Cavanaugh in a smaller sample size, as he was slashing .219/.324/.219 in 12 games entering Friday’s contest. Offensively, that made him a better complement to Susac, who was slashing .262/.310/.330 as he returned from the IL.

The bat was what won Susac the full-time job over Bailey. Even as Haase offers more experience, the Giants are opting to entrust the catching duties to a pair of rookies. Posey and his organization clearly value the bat over the glove for the time being — and San Francisco needs as much of the former as it can get.

That is what squeezed Haase off the roster. The 33-year-old, who made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Guardians, has played for four different teams and has been in 412 games. San Francisco is probably hoping that Haase will clear waivers so he can be optioned to Triple-A. But he has the right to refuse the option.

It’s more likely that he’ll either be cleared off waivers or be traded by San Francisco for cash. There are several teams that could use a back-up catcher as the playoff race heats up and Haase could land with one of them, with the Giants getting little in return.

It’s a move the Giants had to make. But it means Haase’s time in San Francisco is most likely done.