The White Sox signed catcher Eric Haase to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte. The Knights announced the move this evening.
Haase was released by the Giants last week. He had spent the preceding three months on San Francisco’s MLB roster. Haase signed an offseason minor league deal and was in camp with the Giants. He didn’t win an Opening Day job but was up by mid-April as injuries opened an opportunity behind the dish.
The 33-year-old appeared in 29 games for San Francisco in a depth role. He took 84 plate appearances and hit .162/.235/.365 with four home runs while punching out in a third of his trips. That’s standard production for Haase, a veteran of parts of nine MLB seasons. He has above-average power with a lot of whiffs, leading to a career .224/.276/.394 slash line. Haase has a good arm but isn’t a polished receiving catcher.
Chicago has been exploring the catching market since losing Kyle Teel to a high ankle sprain. Haase isn’t going to take them out of that mix but adds another veteran depth option to pair with Korey Lee in Triple-A, as the Teel injury forced Chicago to recall Edgar Quero.
The White Sox should still be looking into short-term depth adds on the trade market. Jonah Heim, Tyler Stephenson and Joey Bart might be available. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported last night that the Sox were among the teams with interest in Mets backup catcher Luis Torrens. It’s unclear if New York would look to move Torrens, whom they signed to a two-year extension in May. He has a very light bat but is one of the sport’s best defensive catchers, excelling both as a framer and especially at throwing out baserunners.
