The Padres’ catching tandem has caught a ton of flak throughout the course of the season, and rightfully so. With the deadline looming, is now the time to make a move?

San Diego’s catching corps has been subject to near-endless scrutiny, and their production as a whole has been some of the worst in baseball.

Padres catchers have posted a .191 batting average, .254 on-base percentage, and .309 slugging in 380 plate appearances.

Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado have combined for a 61 wRC+, the second-lowest by a catching tandem in the league (ahead of only the Giants). It’s not like the duo has been elite defensively, as they rank 24th in the league in team dWAR by catchers (at -0.1). With Danny Jansen and Nick Fortes on the move, and Sean Murphy unlikely to be dealt, the Padres are limited in the options on the trade market. 

With the acquisition of Jansen, the Milwaukee Brewers designated current backup catcher Eric Haase for assignment.

Haase was in his second season in Milwaukee as William Contreras’ backup and had made his way into 30 games this season. In those 30 games and 77 plate appearances, Haase recorded a .222 batting average, .289 on-base percentage, and .357 slugging percentage for a .647 OPS. Last season, Haase played well in limited playing time, posting a .273 batting average and .847 OPS in a comparable sample size.

Haase’s bat has been passable for a backup catcher this season with his limited amount of playing time. Despite this, his batted ball metrics have taken a step back from 2024. 

Even in the midst of a down season for the former Tigers backstop, teams would be interested in his services, either via trade or on the waiver wire. Despite his limited playing time, Haase has been a strong defensive catcher. Haase has thrown out five of 15 runners attempting a stolen base, resulting in a 33% caught stealing percentage. He has also graded out as an average framing catcher behind the plate in his limited playing time over the past two seasons after struggling mightily in that regard with the Tigers.

Haase is still pretty mobile behind the plate, as he ranks as an above-average blocker and receiver behind the dish. He also still has a rocket of an arm, with a 1.88-second pop time that would put him in the elite among MLB catchers. Among all catchers to attempt at least five attempts to throw out a baserunner, Haase’s 1.88-second average pop time ranks third, behind J.T. Realmuto and Patrick Bailey, who are renowned for their defense. His 1.88 mark edges out Elias Diaz (1.92 sec) and Martin Maldonado (1.98 sec).

Is San Diego looking for Haase to be a savior?

No. If A.J. Preller and the Padres pull the trigger on such a move, it would not be as a Hail Mary. It wouldn’t be like the Austin Nola deal, where the team was in dire need of a catcher due to struggles from Austin Hedges and Francisco Mejia, as well as an injury to Luis Campusano. Haase would merely need to produce at a league-average rate to help bolster this catching corps. Haase is also making $1.35 million this season, which is less than Elias Diaz and wouldn’t add too much to the Padres’ payroll. 

San Diego is not in a position to stand pat at the trade deadline, sitting in a Wild Card spot. Adding Eric Haase to the catching/bench situation would provide the Padres with reinforcements for a playoff push. 

Diego Garcia

A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.

A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.