Eric Haase Bio
Eric Michael Haase is an American professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. Born on December 18, 1992, in Detroit, Michigan, Haase has spent his career as a power-hitting backstop in Major League Baseball. He has played in the major leagues for the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Guardians, the Detroit Tigers, and the Milwaukee Brewers. Across his professional journey, he has developed a reputation for combining offensive pop with steady work behind the plate.
Drafted out of high school in 2011, Haase progressed steadily through the Cleveland minor league system before reaching the majors in 2018. His most productive stretch came with the Detroit Tigers from 2021 through 2023, when he established himself as an everyday catcher capable of changing games with one swing. A native Michigander, Haase grew up watching the Detroit Tigers and has built his career close to the franchise he once cheered for as a child.
Early Life and Background
Eric Michael Haase was born on December 18, 1992, in Detroit, Michigan, to Don and Lori Haase. He was raised in the Detroit suburb of Westland, where he developed an early love for baseball. Haase and his family were longtime supporters of the Detroit Tigers, and his childhood favorite player was Tigers catcher Lance Parrish, a future Hall of Famer known for his power at the plate.
Haase’s father, Don, played a central role in shaping his baseball skills. Don converted a twelve-car pole barn on the family property into a full batting cage, giving his son a private place to take batting practice and train as a power hitter. That backyard setup became the foundation for Haase’s offensive identity as a catcher with legitimate pop in his swing.
Haase attended Divine Child High School in Dearborn, Michigan, where he worked his way up from a freshman who barely made the varsity roster to one of the top high school players in the state. As a junior in 2010, he helped Divine Child win a state championship while primarily playing third base, batting .454 with eight home runs, 15 doubles, and 47 runs batted in. During his senior season in 2011, he was named Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year for Michigan and Michigan’s Mr. Baseball after hitting .495 with 14 home runs and 54 RBI.
Path to Professional Baseball
Haase committed to play college baseball at Ohio State but never made it to campus. The Cleveland Indians selected him in the seventh round, 218th overall, of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, and he accepted a $580,000 signing bonus to begin his professional career. Cleveland primarily viewed him as a catcher, though the organization also planned to give him opportunities at third base to take advantage of his athleticism.
Haase began in the Rookie-level Arizona League Indians in 2011, batting .300 with two runs batted in across four games. He spent most of 2012 in the Arizona League as well, posting a .282 average with three home runs and 22 RBI in 28 games, and made a brief appearance with the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers. In 2013, he moved up to the Single-A Lake County Captains, where he hit 14 home runs in 104 games and used the offseason to focus on strength training and defensive refinement.
After a midseason promotion to the Double-A Carolina Mudcats in 2014, Haase returned to the Carolina League in 2015 with the Lynchburg Hillcats. He endured a slow start before hitting a walk-off home run in the tenth inning against the Wilmington Blue Rocks on June 11, a signature moment in his climb through the minors. Across 90 games with Lynchburg, he batted .247 with nine home runs and 55 RBI while throwing out 31 percent of attempted base stealers.
Eric Haase Career
Minor League Development (2011-2017)
Haase spent the 2016 season with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, hitting 12 home runs and driving in 33 runs. The following year, he split his time between Akron and the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, combining to hit 27 home runs and 61 RBI across the two levels. That production caught the attention of Cleveland’s front office and set the stage for his major league arrival.
On November 6, 2017, the Indians added Haase to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He spent the 2018 minor league season with Columbus, where he hit .236 with an .731 OPS, 20 home runs, and 71 RBI. The Indians promoted him to the major leagues for the first time on September 1, 2018, and he made his debut the following day, going 1-for-16 in limited action.
Cleveland Indians Debut (2018-2019)
Haase opened the 2019 season back at Triple-A Columbus before returning to the Indians later in the year. On September 28, 2019, he hit his first major league home run, a milestone that had eluded him in his brief 2018 call-up. Across 10 appearances with Cleveland in 2019, he went 1-for-16 with one home run and three runs batted in.
Following the 2019 season, Cleveland designated Haase for assignment after signing infielder César Hernández. On January 8, 2020, the Indians traded him to the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations, sending him back to the city where he grew up and launching the most productive chapter of his major league career.
Detroit Tigers Breakthrough (2020-2023)
Haase began 2020 on Detroit’s taxi squad during the shortened season and was recalled on September 15. He batted .176 with no home runs and two RBI in seven appearances before being designated for assignment in December after the Tigers signed pitcher José Ureña. He cleared waivers in January 2021 and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo, but the Tigers selected his contract on May 12 to begin his most productive stretch.
On May 17, 2021, Haase hit his first career multi-homer game, launching a pair of solo shots against the Seattle Mariners. The very next night, he caught Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter against Seattle, the eighth in Tigers history. He later hit his first career grand slam off Hansel Robles of the Minnesota Twins on July 27, a game-tying shot in the ninth inning that helped Detroit win in eleven innings. That same contest marked the first time in MLB history that opposing catchers hit grand slams in the same game. Haase was named American League Rookie of the Month for July 2021, the first Tigers player to win the award since Brennan Boesch in 2010, after posting a .265 average with nine home runs and 29 RBI.
In 2022, Haase made his first career Opening Day roster and immediately delivered, hitting a game-tying ninth-inning home run against the Chicago White Sox on April 8 in a Tigers walk-off win. He hit his second career grand slam off Sean Manaea of the San Diego Padres on July 25, and on September 7 he recorded his first career five-hit game against the Los Angeles Angels, going 5-for-5 with two singles, two doubles, and a home run. He struggled in 2023, batting .201 with four home runs and 26 RBI in 86 games, and was designated for assignment on August 19 after Detroit signed catcher Carson Kelly.
Cleveland Guardians Return (2023)
On August 21, 2023, the Cleveland Guardians claimed Haase off waivers from Detroit, briefly returning him to the organization that had originally drafted him. He went 2-for-10 in three games before being designated for assignment on August 31. After clearing waivers, he was outrighted to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on September 3 and elected free agency on October 3.
Milwaukee Brewers Era (2024-2025)
Haase signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on December 20, 2023. Despite a strong spring training, he was designated for assignment on March 28, 2024, after failing to make the Opening Day roster. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on April 1, before being selected back to the active roster on June 26. In 30 games with Milwaukee in 2024, he slashed .273/.304/.515 with five home runs and 14 RBI. The Brewers declined his option at season’s end, and he elected free agency on October 14.
Haase returned to the Brewers in 2025 and made 30 appearances, batting .229 with a .357 slugging percentage, two home runs, and nine runs batted in. On July 28, 2025, he was designated for assignment after Milwaukee acquired catcher Danny Jansen in a trade. He elected free agency on October 14, 2025, returning to the open market.
Driving Style and Strengths
Haase has built his career on pull-side power and a strong work ethic inherited from his early training in his father’s converted pole barn. Behind the plate, he has consistently thrown out base stealers at rates above the major league average, peaking at 31 percent caught stealing during his 2021 breakout with Detroit. His offensive profile leans heavily on home run power, and his 22-homer 2021 season confirmed his ability to deliver middle-of-the-order production when given regular at bats.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Haase’s most memorable moments is the September 2019 home run that marked his first major league round tripper, and his role behind the plate for Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter in May 2021. He also caught history on July 27, 2021, when he and Minnesota’s Mitch Garver became the first opposing catchers to hit grand slams in the same game. His five-hit performance against the Los Angeles Angels on September 7, 2022, and his walk-off homer for Lynchburg in 2015 round out a career full of dramatic highlights.
Eric Haase Career Wins
Eric Michael Haase has compiled an offensive resume built around home run power rather than pure batting average. His most consistent major league production came during his 2021 season with Detroit, when he hit 22 home runs in 98 games while batting .231 and driving in 61 runs. He has added grand slams, walk-off hits, and multi-homer games at both the major and minor league levels.
Major League Highlights
Haase’s signature major league win came in his 2021 Tigers debut on May 17, when he hit his first career multi-homer game against Seattle and followed it the next night by catching a no-hitter. His grand slam on July 27, 2021, against Minnesota produced a walk-off victory and tied a major league record for opposing catchers hitting grand slams in the same game. He added a five-hit performance against the Angels in September 2022 and a game-tying home run on Opening Day 2022 that helped the Tigers walk off against the White Sox.
Other Wins and Performances
During his minor league career, Haase won a state high school championship with Divine Child in 2010 and was later named Michigan’s Mr. Baseball in 2011 after a stellar senior season. In the minors, he hit a walk-off home run for Lynchburg in 2015 and combined for 27 home runs across Akron and Columbus in 2017, performances that paved the way for his major league opportunity.
Eric Haase Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Eric Michael Haase was raised by his father, Don Haase, and his mother, Lori Haase, in the Detroit suburb of Westland. Don’s decision to build a private batting cage in the family’s pole barn played a defining role in Eric’s development as a power-hitting catcher. The family has long supported the Detroit Tigers, and Eric’s childhood favorite player was Hall of Fame catcher Lance Parrish, a connection that helped inspire his own career behind the plate.
Personal Life
Haase married his wife, Maria, after the two met as high school freshmen, and the couple has four children together. He has spent most of his professional career close to his Michigan roots, playing for the Detroit Tigers from 2020 to 2023 after growing up cheering for the same franchise.
2025 Season Performance
Eric Michael Haase entered the 2025 season with the Milwaukee Brewers on a one-year deal, looking to build on his late-2024 production in which he hit .273 with five home runs in 30 games. He appeared in 30 contests for Milwaukee and finished the year with a .229 batting average, a .289 on-base percentage, a .357 slugging percentage, two home runs, and nine runs batted in. His role fluctuated as the Brewers sorted through their catching depth chart.
On July 28, 2025, Milwaukee designated Haase for assignment after trading for catcher Danny Jansen, ending his tenure with the club. He cleared waivers and was released, then elected free agency on October 14, 2025. His 2025 numbers reflect a smaller role than his peak Tigers seasons, but his steady work behind the plate and veteran presence kept him in demand.
As a free agent following the 2025 season, Haase remained available to major league teams seeking a right-handed hitting catcher with power potential and a track record of throwing out base stealers. His mix of offensive upside, defensive experience, and clubhouse leadership made him a candidate to sign with a club in need of catching depth heading into the 2026 season.