MLB Trade Rumors confirmed Friday that San Francisco cut Eric Haase loose from the 40-man roster, a move that opens a spot during the thick of trade-deadline roster juggling. It's a quiet transaction on paper, but it caps off a genuinely strange season for a guy who wasn't even supposed to be in the picture.
MLB Trade Rumors broke the news that the Giants had designated Haase for assignment.
Haase's path to San Francisco was already a long shot. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants back in January, got released before the season even started in late March, then turned around and re-signed on another minor league contract just days later. He clawed his way to Triple-A Sacramento, hit well enough there, and got the call when Daniel Susac went down with a back injury in late April.
Once he got his shot, Haase actually made some noise. He became the first Giants catcher in franchise history to hit two home runs in a game at Dodger Stadium, a moment that briefly made him a folk hero out west. But the production didn't hold — Haase slashed just .162/.235/.365 across his time with the big club, numbers that were never going to survive Susac getting healthy again.
And that's exactly what happened. With Susac back off the injured list, the Giants had a roster crunch to solve and no real path to keep a backup catcher hitting under .200 on the 40-man. Haase becomes a footnote in a season that briefly felt like a redemption arc — DFA'd, waivers next, and a decision looming on whether any club wants to give the 33-year-old another shot before the deadline dust settles.