CLEVELAND — Eric Haase is out. Carson Kelly is in.
Jake Rogers is here to stay.
The Detroit Tigers shuffled their catching roster before Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field, signing Kelly to the minimum salary for the final 40 games of the 2023 season with a $3.5 million club option for the 2024 campaign. The Tigers didn’t want to carry three catchers on the 26-man roster, so Haase was designated for assignment to create space.
“With six weeks left in the season, there’s a crash course for us to get to know him and for him to get to know us,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday. “Decisions can be made after the season as to how we move forward.”
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For the rest of the season, the Rogers-Kelly tandem will be in charge of guiding the Tigers’ pitching staff. Triple-A Toledo catcher Donny Sands, whom the Tigers acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in an offseason trade, is the third catcher on the 40-man roster.
The Tigers discarded Haase from the mix.
“The last couple months, it changed significantly when he struggled against left-handed pitching,” Hinch said of Haase’s role. “He started getting less and less time in left field and became catcher-only. Jake performed great against left-handed pitching and started hitting the ball out of the ballpark, and we know what he can do behind the plate. I think it evolved over time with Rogers taking the majority of reps.”
Rogers will continue to get a bulk of the catching reps, but Kelly will start his first game for the Tigers on Monday against the Chicago Cubs at Comerica Park, serving as the catcher for right-hander Alex Faedo. He met Faedo, as well as the 12 other pitchers, before Saturday’s game in Cleveland.
The 29-year-old sat next to Hinch, a catcher for seven MLB seasons, in the dugout during Saturday’s game to soak up information.
“I’m a note-taker,” Kelly said Saturday. “I’ll write a lot of notes and be ready for the test when it comes.”
Kelly already knows left-handed reliever Tyler Holton, who has a 1.69 ERA in 64 innings, from their time together with the Diamondbacks. President of baseball operations Scott Harris claimed Holton off waivers in spring training.
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Rogers, the Tigers’ No. 1 catcher, will help Kelly learn the details of each pitcher — such as the preferred pitch in certain counts and situations — but most of the intel will come from meetings with the individual pitchers, pitching coach Chris Fetter and catching coach Tim Federowicz.
“He’s out there right now catching a bunch of guys in the bullpen,” Rogers said Saturday. “He’s going to talk to Fetter and Federowicz and A.J. and me, if he needs it, to learn those guys as quick as he can. It’s tough, but he’s a pro. He’ll be fine.”
The on-boarding process is the primary challenge.
After that, Kelly will lean on his 447 games of experience across parts of eight MLB seasons.
“Yeah, I got a lot of information to get caught up on,” Kelly said. “It’s been quick, but everybody’s been great here. It’s a great opportunity to come in, play and learn a new staff.”
The Tigers signed Kelly for several reasons, but one of the reasons was to grow the depth of the catcher position. If Rogers suffers an injury, the Tigers fully trust Kelly to take over as the primary catcher to finish out the 2023 season.
That probably wouldn’t have been the case with Haase.
If Rogers were to get hurt, one of two Triple-A Toledo catchers — Sands or Michael Papierski — would serve as Kelly’s backup. (Dillon Dingler, a 24-year-old prospect, joined Triple-A Toledo earlier this week but needs to continue his development on offense.)
“We’re confident with that group that we have,” Hinch said. “Adding Carson only strengthens us, which will help. You’re one foul tip away from that depth being challenged behind the plate. We are seeing the growth of the department. I think (catching coordinator Ryan) Sienko has done a great job developing guys.”
As for the future, the Tigers are interested in keeping Kelly (and, by extension, the Rogers-Kelly tandem) into the 2024 season.
Harris’s organization has plans in place to optimize him on offense and defense, which includes cleaning up his receiving skills. His pitch framing ranks in the 22nd percentile across 237 innings this season. For comparison, Rogers ranks in the 88th percentile over 616⅔ innings.
If Kelly adjusts, the Tigers will have a reason to pick up the $3.5 million club option for next season.
“What do we got? Six weeks left,” Kelly said. “It’s definitely an interesting time, but these guys were one of the (teams) to call right away and show interest. Talking with A.J., seeing the staff and the young pitchers, it’s impressive and something that I can see going in a really good direction. I look forward to being a part of it.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.