Eric Haase, Gary Sánchez, and the Brewers' Backup Catcher Conundrum

[Jason Wang]

Gary Sánchez will be back from the IL sooner than later, so what does that mean for Eric Haase and the backup backstop picture?

Image courtesy of © Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

On Jun. 26, Gary Sánchez was placed on the 10-day IL for a left calf strain. To replace him, Eric Haase was called back up, and he's performed admirably in Sánchez's stead, slashing .455/.455/.727 over his 11 plate appearances with the team so far. It has been a great streak, for a player who managed just a .528 OPS in 2023.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and in this case, the good thing is probably Haase’s hot streak. Presumably, he'll come back to Earth a bit, and Sánchez is reportedly very close to returning to the active roster. If Haase is designated for assignment to make room for Sánchez, it’s doubtful that he’d clear waivers, given the way he's played all season both for Triple-A Nashville and with the Crew and the perpetual league-wide need for better catching depth. It was a mild surprise when he made it through at the beginning of the season, and the Crew are unlikely to get so lucky four months later, given the attrition and poor performances that have piled up in the meantime.

The Orioles and Guardians are two teams that come to mind, the first trotting out James McCann (.571 OPS) behind Adley Rutschman and the latter having Austin Hedges (.421 OPS) as their secondary catcher. Hedges is practically a coach in uniform, but McCann would be relatively easy to let go for Baltimore, and of course, you never know which other teams might take an interest.

In the short term, it wouldn’t make much sense to have three catchers on the roster, especially when one of them is as heavily used as William Contreras. Although he’s slumped big-time since his MVP-tier play at the beginning of the season, Contreras still has an OPS of .806 and is a consistent lineup presence. He plays almost every day. The Brewers have too many other good options (some of them, like Haase, tough to farm out) to let two roster spots be tied up in backing up Contreras.

But what happens if Sánchez gets reinjured, or Contreras cracks under the burden of his workload? The options for Milwaukee in Triple-A aren’t great, at least from a hitting standpoint. Francisco Mejía has played the most innings at catcher for the Nashville Sounds, but is slashing just .249/.314/.385 over 239 plate appearances in a very hitter-friendly environment. Nor is he an inspiring defensive option. In an ideal world, the need for a backup catcher could result in highly-ranked Brewers prospect Jeferson Quero getting called up, but in the crueler one, he had season-ending shoulder surgery in April, so that’s not going to happen.

Perhaps a trade would be in order. Just last year, the Crew sent catcher Alex Jackson to the Rays in exchange for Evan McKendry, a right-handed starter currently pitching in Triple-A. With Victor Caratini already a serviceable backup option for Contreras, Jackson was a redundancy languishing away in Triple-A as a 27-year old. It was a win-win move, with Tampa Bay receiving a major league-ready player who is now their alternate catcher behind Ben Rortvedt, and Milwaukee receiving more starting pitching depth. Maybe the Brewers could do something similar, but this time in reverse, pursuing a near-ready catcher to use in case of emergency.

It wouldn’t make sense to make this a priority at the deadline, nor to give up too much, so picking the right target would be key. One possible name could be Brian Serven, whom the Blue Jays claimed on waivers this spring and has been very good for them in Triple-A (though not so in a brief stint with the parent club). Another could be Mets spare part Joe Hudson.

Kevin Plawecki, another 33-year old minor-leaguer, could be an option. He’s got a .778 OPS over 155 plate appearances with the Padres' Triple-A affiliate and San Diego could definitely use more pitching, especially in the bullpen. Their catcher depth is already good, with Luis Campusano and Kyle Higashioka holding down the fort while No. 6-ranked MLB prospect Ethan Salas earns his stripes. Surely they have no need for a someone nearly twice the age of Salas, right?

These thoughts are really just in preparation for a worst-case scenario, and there's a good chance that that doesn't come to fruition. If both catchers on the major-league roster eat their Wheaties and stay out of trouble, this should all be a moot point. However, it’s yet another interesting example of how the Brewers’ front office might have to get crafty to address unfortunate roster situations. With moves to acquire and (hopefully) get the best out of struggling starters Dallas Keuchel and Aaron Civale, the backup catcher conjecture would be the latest in a long list of challenges for Milwaukee management.

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[Ro Mueller]

Thank you for this write-up.

Option A: We take our chances with the waiver wire, then live with Francisco Mejia and Brian Navarreto as emergency options until we can scoop up someone else.

Option B: We go with 3 catchers on the MLB roster for 8 weeks (then stick with it once MLB rosters expand), knowing that some other position player injury is probably on the horizon anyway. Frelick, Mitchell, Perkins, Monasterio (would burn an option year) and Capra (likely goes when Ortiz returns) can each be optioned for 15 days without any true harm.

Option C: We try to immediately "buy" Haase back from whoever claims him (see Nottingham, Jacob - May 2021).

[Playing Catch]

Yesterday, I was literally going to try and do some research on this very topic. Thanks for reading my mind!

Presuming they lose Haase when Sanchez comes back, I think the best-case scenario is they can trade for a good defensive AAAA catcher with options, if possible. The issue is if they get into a bind after the trade deadline. I guess Mejia is okay, but I'd prefer a glove-first guy in that role, as hoping for any offense out of that player is pointless.

[Outlander]

I would opt for keeping three catchers at least until the trade deadline to make sure Sanchez can handle the backup catcher role. They can afford to option Monasterio once Ortiz is back. After that there only a few more weeks until they get another roster spot. Haase would be an affordable backup option next year as well, especially with the Quero injury delaying his major league debut.

[eddiemathews]

Include Haase in a deal for a pitcher...bullpen or starter.

[Harold Hutchison]

My thinking? Have Darrien Miller ready for a call-up. While he has never had the hype of Quero, he's got excellent OBP skills, bats left-handed, and would have option years.

Deal Haase for some minor-league pitching help, add Miller to the 40-man after selecting his contract, then he can be optioned to Nashville when Sanchez is healthy.

[sveumrules]

22 minutes ago, clancyphile said:

My thinking? Have Darrien Miller ready for a call-up. While he has never had the hype of Quero, he's got excellent OBP skills, bats left-handed, and would have option years.

Deal Haase for some minor-league pitching help, add Miller to the 40-man after selecting his contract, then he can be optioned to Nashville when Sanchez is healthy.

Darrien Miller? Has he leapfrogged Wes Clarke in the catcher rankings?

[Jason Wang]

3 hours ago, Ro Mueller said:

Thank you for this write-up.

Option A: We take our chances with the waiver wire, then live with Francisco Mejia and Brian Navarreto as emergency options until we can scoop up someone else.

Option B: We go with 3 catchers on the MLB roster for 8 weeks (then stick with it once MLB rosters expand), knowing that some other position player injury is probably on the horizon anyway. Frelick, Mitchell, Perkins, Monasterio (would burn an option year) and Capra (likely goes when Ortiz returns) can each be optioned for 15 days without any true harm.

Option C: We try to immediately "buy" Haase back from whoever claims him (see Nottingham, Jacob - May 2021).

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Shoutout to Matt Trueblood for the pointers on this piece and leading me in the right direction!

[Underachiever]

Is there any concern with Sanchez? He went on the 10-day IL on June 26. He was eligible to come back on July 4. I guess there is no reason to rush him back. 

[KeithStone53151]

It would be a lot easier to keep all 3 if we didn't have a log jam of outfielders as well. It will certainly be an interesting decision in a week or two. The Cubs also are a team that needs catcher help, and with the familiarity with Counsell they could be in the mix for Haase.

[CheezWizHed]

11 minutes ago, KeithStone53151 said:

It would be a lot easier to keep all 3 if we didn't have a log jam of outfielders as well.

Just play Sanchez in CF!

[eddiemathews]

10 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Just play Sanchez in CF!

Shaw and Moose played second...how hard could it be? Don't know what you'd do with Turang, though...

[Jim French Stepstool]

4 hours ago, Ro Mueller said:

Thank you for this write-up.

Option A: We take our chances with the waiver wire, then live with Francisco Mejia and Brian Navarreto as emergency options until we can scoop up someone else.

Option B: We go with 3 catchers on the MLB roster for 8 weeks (then stick with it once MLB rosters expand), knowing that some other position player injury is probably on the horizon anyway. Frelick, Mitchell, Perkins, Monasterio (would burn an option year) and Capra (likely goes when Ortiz returns) can each be optioned for 15 days without any true harm.

Option C: We try to immediately "buy" Haase back from whoever claims him (see Nottingham, Jacob - May 2021).

IMO, A or C. If C is too costly, go defense first which would be Navarreto.

Or D----"Gee Gary, the calf can be a tricky thing. I think we need to take about 8 weeks to strengthen it."

[tmwiese55]

2 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

IMO, A or C. If C is too costly, go defense first which would be Navarreto.

Or D----"Gee Gary, the calf can be a tricky thing. I think we need to take about 8 weeks to strengthen it."

Yea that's probably step 1, let Gary be as slow as possible and maybe even some rehab time in AAA.  See if another injury happens to him or the other Cs in that time.  And down the line you can also have Haase get a minor 'injury' and take 3 weeks off too in order to get close to the expansion.     If you're getting really close to the expansion and still have a good lead to give some wiggle room I'd be fine with an OF going down and getting some regular ABs for a few weeks before coming back up. They probably have too many OFs on the roster as is, especially since Chourio basically shouldn't be sitting now.   If I remember correctly Haase can be an emergency OF too. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

14 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

  If I remember correctly Haase can be an emergency OF too. 

OK, I didn't realize that. Seems he's played 57 games in the OF.

AFA how well he plays out there, I guess whether he wears a helmet in the OF would be a clue.😁

[Joseph Zarr]

5 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Darrien Miller? Has he leapfrogged Wes Clarke in the catcher rankings?

I don't believe there is anyone more 'Ride or Die!' with their guys than Clancy. He has Miller on speed dial. Sees Wes Clarke as the next great backstop. Heck, he was probably responsible for planting the Frelick at 3B concept to Murphy at Spring Training. Gotta love the passion!

[Playing Catch]

This is a crazy idea, and there's a bunch of reasons it would never happen, but how about trying to trade for Tyler Soderstrom? A guy that can take Bauers' roster spot and be the 3rd catcher? Or, he could be optioned as well.

Kind of two (or three) birds with one stone. Obviously, it would require some really big player/prospect capital, like Black and/or Frelick. But it would give cover at catcher, get rid of Bauers, and give the Crew a legit first base option for the next few years (and backup catcher).

Are there any other lefties that can take over for Bauers AND be at least a 3rd catcher?

[Jim French Stepstool]

40 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

This is a crazy idea, and there's a bunch of reasons it would never happen, but how about trying to trade for Tyler Soderstrom? A guy that can take Bauers' roster spot and be the 3rd catcher? Or, he could be optioned as well.

Kind of two (or three) birds with one stone. Obviously, it would require some really big player/prospect capital, like Black and/or Frelick. But it would give cover at catcher, get rid of Bauers, and give the Crew a legit first base option for the next few years (and backup catcher).

Are there any other lefties that can take over for Bauers AND be at least a 3rd catcher?

I think whatever talent it would take to Acquire Soderstrom, they feel would be much better served elsewhere (pitching). That's much higher on their priority list than picking up another catcher, or wanting to jettison Bauers.

[biedergb]

What about riding 3C for a week or two. Get Contreras some days off or whatever is needed to get him to mvp level again. A line up with Yeli, Contreras hitting and Adames/Hoskins being threats will be solid come September.

Once Haase cools you can try to send him down again, or try to trade him.  But July could be a good time to get some rest for some key players like Contreras.

[Ro Mueller]

Yeah, Haase should probably go ahead and sign that apartment lease in Milwaukee: