How Did Detroit Tigers Get Eric Haase?
Haase was traded to the Detroit Tigers for monetary consideration on January 8, 2020.
Haase was selected to be a member of the Detroit Tigers’ taxi squad for the start of the truncated 2020 MLB season. The Tigers recalled Haase on September 15, 2020.
Haase batted .176 in seven games with the 2020 Detroit Tigers, with no home runs and two RBIs.
Following the signing of José Urea, Haase was marked for assignment on December 23, 2020. He was outrighted on January 6, 2021.
Haase was added to the active roster on May 12, 2021. On May 13, he made his 2021 debut and went 2-for-4 at the bat.
Haase recorded his first career multiple-homer game on May 17, 2021, when he smashed a pair of solo home runs against the Seattle Mariners.
The next night (May 18), Haase caught Spencer Turnbull’s eighth no-hitter in Tigers history against the Mariners. On July 27, Haase hit his first career grand slam home run against Minnesota Twins pitcher Hansel Robles.
In the ninth inning, a grand slam knotted the game at 5–5, and the Tigers went on to win in the eleventh.
It was the first time in MLB history that rival catchers hit grand slams in the same game, with Minnesota’s Mitch Garver hitting one earlier in the game.
Haase was selected for the American League Rookie of the Month for July on August 2, 2021. Since Brennan Boesch in 2010, he was the first Tiger to win the honor.
Haase had a .265 average and a.627 slugging percentage in July, with nine home runs and 29 RBI. In 98 games played in 2021, Haase hit 22 home runs while batting .231 and driving in 61 runs.
He threw out 31% of prospective base stealers at the plate, compared to a league average of 23%.