CLEVELAND — The Detroit Tigers cut ties with catcher Eric Haase.
The 30-year-old — a Westland native, Livonia resident and Dearborn Divine Child alumnus who grew up as a fan of the Tigers — has been designated for assignment to make room for new catcher Carson Kelly.
The Tigers informed Haase of their decision after Friday’s doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Kelly, who enters his third organization, signed a major-league contract for the remainder of the 2023 season with a club option for the 2024 season.
“It’s tough to deliver that type of news to someone who’s universally liked, loved and respected,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday. “He had some really cool moments for us here and has worked his way to the big leagues, but unfortunately, it hasn’t gone great this year. We chose to sign Carson and have a pretty good plan in place. We think there’s some areas that we can address to make him better. We think he can help us moving forward.”
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If the Tigers pick up the club option, Kelly will earn $3.5 million plus incentives for the 2024 campaign, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. If the Tigers decline the club option, Kelly can be non-tendered (making him a free agent) in his final year of arbitration eligibility.
Kelly, who has a .308 on-base percentage with 44 home runs across 447 games in his eight-year MLB career, is also making $4.275 million from the Arizona Diamondbacks this season.
“In the last couple of days, we’ve been talking,” Kelly said Saturday about his agreement with the Tigers. “Yesterday I got on a flight and flew out from Arizona, and we’re here today. It’s all happened pretty quick, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and look forward to getting to know the guys.”
The 29-year-old was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on Aug. 13 and released on Aug. 15. The Tigers were one of the first teams to inquire about Kelly, a right-handed hitter, when he reached the open market.
He hit .226 with one home run, seven walks and 23 strikeouts this season after returning from a forearm fracture, which happened in spring training. He also missed six weeks in the 2022 season with a Grade 2 oblique strain.
“He can do a lot,” Hinch said. “We think we can improve his receiving. He’s got some power. He’s got some experience. He’s had some really freakish injuries that have held him back a little bit, but he’s a well-rounded, all-around catcher. We like the contact skills. We have a plan in place to get him up and running. That’s the hardest thing for us to do.”
The Diamondbacks will pay the rest of Kelly’s initial salary (roughly $1 million) while the Tigers pay him the prorated $720,000 minimum salary, which comes out to roughly $180,000 over the final 40 games of the season.
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As for Haase, the Tigers acquired the local catcher from the Cleveland Guardians in January 2020 for cash considerations. He played seven games in the 2020 season before experiencing a breakthrough 2021 campaign, hitting .231 and blasting 22 home runs in 98 games.
He won American League Rookie of the Month in July 2021.
“He loves Detroit,” Hinch said. “This is his childhood team. He worked his way into our lineup and did a lot of things for us and for the organization. … I was close to Eric. I think he’s terrific. I think he can help teams. It wasn’t working out here as well as it had in previous years, but I never like delivering bad news.”
Haase stayed productive in 2022, hitting .254 with 14 homers in 110 games, but completely fell apart in 2023. He hit .201 with four home runs, 16 walks (5.7% walk rate) and 78 strikeouts (27.7% strikeout rate) in 86 games.
It didn’t take long for Haase to become almost unplayable for the Tigers, even coming off the bench in pinch-hit situations. He struggled against left-handed pitchers — his calling card over the past two seasons — with a .129 batting average and one home run in 72 plate appearances.
He caught two no-hitters in the past three seasons: Spencer Turnbull on May 18, 2021, and the trio of Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange on July 8, 2023. Pitchers posted a 3.75 ERA in 468 innings this season with Haase behind the plate.
Haase hit .225 with 41 homers in 301 games in his Tigers career, spanning parts of four MLB seasons.
“We spent a lot of time up here together,” Jake Rogers, the Tigers’ primary catcher, said Saturday. “It’s tough to lose not only a teammate but a friend. We were good friends. You can’t really beat that relationship. It’s sucks, but it’s the way of the game.”
Haase was previously outrighted by the Tigers in December 2020, so he has the contractual rights to elect free agency and decline an assignment to Triple-A Toledo if he clears waivers.
Moving forward, Kelly and Rogers will split time behind the plate. Rogers, though, has solidified himself as the No. 1 catcher with his combination of home-run power on offense and top-tier framing on defense.
“The reality is, where we’re at in our season, how we’re trying to build towards whatever is next for this team, and then you factor in performance, decisions like this are going to be made,” Hinch said. “It is a reality that our team has to understand. Changes come whenever changes are needed. You can still be upset or still be frustrated or still be sad for your teammate, but the reality is, these things happen when the organization feels like it’s necessary.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.