Giants catcher earns ‘Major League’ comparison after multi-homer game vs. Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — It seemed like conventional wisdom that Eric Haase would be the odd man out when Daniel Susac returns from his rehab assignment, giving the Giants the catching tandem, with Jesus Rodriguez, that Buster Posey envisioned when he traded Patrick Bailey.

Not so fast.

Haase made about the strongest possible case to remain on the roster — with San Francisco’s two young catchers — on one of the biggest stages there is for a Giants player.

The journeyman backstop, who was cut in spring training and initially opted out of his deal, homered twice in the Giants’ 6–2 win at Dodger Stadium — and came a few feet short, or a few hours late, of coming up with a third with a fly ball out that sent Andy Pages to the wall in center.

“If he hits that ball to center a little earlier in the day, it’s a homer,” manager Tony Vitello said. “It was an incredible night offensively. We needed something.”

It was a night for the record books whether or not his third fly ball carried a little further. No Giants catcher had ever homered twice in one game at Dodger Stadium, and only four backstops in the history of the franchise had double dipped in any game against the Dodgers.

The last to do it? None other than former manager Bob Melvin in 1987.

“I didn’t have that on a bingo card, I’ll tell you that,” Haase said.

Another square few had on their own cards heading into the season was a Giants roster without Bailey, let alone one with three other catchers besides the two-time Gold Glover.

Yet, it’s a distinct possibility, with Haase and Rodriguez’s positional flexibility. Haase takes fly balls to stay fresh in the outfield at least a couple times a week, and Rodriguez can also play a corner spot in a pinch, or even the infield if necessary.

“It’s gonna be a conversation,” Vitello said. “Those two guys can do a lot of different things.”

Susac is expected to rejoin the club at some point on this 10-game road trip. The Giants are waiting for him to check the last boxes of catching nine innings on back-to-back nights.

Finding a spot on the roster besides Haase’s could be a challenge. 

They could send down Bryce Eldridge to get more consistent at-bats, but that would once again leave them lacking left-handed bats on their bench. Seldom-used utility man Christian Koss is their best backup shortstop, and Drew Gilbert has become a late-game chess piece Vitello has used to pinch-run, play defense and on Tuesday lay down a squeeze bunt.

The Giants had signaled they were comfortable moving forward with Susac and Rodriguez, even though the duo has started a combined 10 games behind the plate in the majors.

A veteran presence such as Haase, 33, could be valuable in more ways than just his bat. He is out of options, so any move to send him to the minors would require passing through waivers.

“I don’t know if mentor is the right word,” Haase said. “They have unbelievable talent. I think the biggest thing for me is trying to normalize that this is baseball for them now. Even if it’s the big leagues, they can do their same routines.”

Vitello, as he does, had a more colorful analogy for Haase’s potential veteran status.

“It’s ‘Major League’ all over again. Maybe it’s ‘Major League 4.’ I don’t know how many of those things they made. They were getting pretty bad, so hopefully they stopped,” Vitello said, before referencing the grizzled catcher from the Hollywood hit who takes two young catchers under his wing. “Jake Taylor vibes from Haase.” 

Haase was drafted all the way back in 2011, waited seven years to make his major-league debut and didn’t get a real opportunity until his second organization.

The power stroke is nothing new. He turned in back-to-back campaigns with double-digit homers in a part-time role with the Tigers in 2021–22, plus three minor-league seasons of 20 or more. The multi-homer game was the seventh of his big-league career.

Defensively, none of their current group has the acumen of Bailey. But Adrian Houser had nothing but nice things to say about pitching to Haase after limiting a dangerous Dodgers lineup to two runs on three hits.

“I think I shook maybe once,” Houser said. “So we’re on the same page.”

Since trading Bailey, the Giants have won three of four. Haase doubled Bailey’s home run output in a matter of two plate appearances Tuesday and afterward speculated about the 180.

“I just think the chemistry in the room now is what we were searching for a lot of the season,” he said. “You can argue which pieces are to blame for that. All we know is it’s nice to feel that shift of momentum and energy.”

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