Indians Deal Catcher Eric Haase to Tigers in Rare In-Division Trade

Rebuilding a franchise from scratch always takes creative moves that would otherwise be called flyers. In this case, however, we're not sure Eric Haase even qualifies as such.

Still with us? Congratulations, you are a TRUE fan. The Indians have dealt Haase, who is still only 26 years old despite spending time at just about every minor-league level in the past three seasons. Yet, with a team full of young pitching prospects, trading for a journeyman catcher might *actually* make some sense. Stick with us.

Especially in Spring Training, Haase will provide an important role of working with pitchers like Casey Mize and Matt Manning, two of the top 100 prospects in all of baseball, to develop their stuff, as both are expected to rise to the majors by the end of 2020.

Their success -- and by definition, that of the Tigers -- will determine exactly how far along this next era of the rebuild is. Al Avila has effectively wasted the last three years of Detroit baseball fans' lives, so we hope to not wait much longer. The divot on the couch can only sink so far.

Besides, we doubt cash considerations will make much of an impact in Cleveland, outside of buying a new vending machine.

Haase has a career .094 batting average in the majors. Should he receive the chance to redeem himself on what's sure to be a fairly dreadful Tigers team this season, we hope he can improve upon that mark. Could the Mendoza line be within reach?