Eric Haase accepts assignment to Triple-A Columbus

Eric Haase is heading to Triple-A Columbus. This comes days after being designated for assignment by the Cleveland Guardians after claiming a trio of former Los Angeles Angels pitchers on waivers. The other player designated for assignment by the team, Peyton Battenfield, was claimed by the New York Mets. Haase accepted the outright assignment to Columbus after clearing waivers.

The Guardians claimed Haase on waivers from the Detroit Tigers after they decided to designate him for assignment. Considering that Haase began his career with Cleveland, it is not surprising to see a team that knows him pretty well bring him back into their organization.

Haase did not play much in either go around with the Guardians, registering 45 plate appearances between his two stints with the club. A larger opportunity was presented to him for a lackluster Detroit Tigers team. 2021 saw Haase hit a career-high 22 home runs with a .231/.286/.459 slash line in 98 games. Haase saw his home run output drop the following year to 14, but he did increase the number of doubles, going from 12 to 17 in just 12 additional games.

The 2023 season saw his performance at the plate take a massive hit. Haase slashed just .201/.247/.281 with eight doubles and four home runs for the Tigers in 86 games. Detroit had seen enough from the Michigan native, ultimately deciding to designate him for assignment. Haase would register 2 hits in 11 at-bats in his short stint with the Guardians this season before being DFA'd for the incoming group of arms.

With Haase accepting his assignment and joining the Columbus Clippers, Cleveland has an additional catching option they can turn to if needed. While not an exciting option by any means, it is better to have too many depth options at catcher than not enough.