Catcher Eric Haase cleared waivers and is heading to the Milwaukee Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville.
The Brewers announced Monday that Haase had been sent outright to Nashville.
The 31-year-old Haase was designated for assignment Thursday.
Although Haase batted .395 with a .465 on-base percentage, five homers and 14 RBIs in 18 Cactus League games, he was unable to make the Brewers’ season-opening roster.
Haase signed with the Brewers in December after hitting .201 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 89 games with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians last year.
Two months after signing Haase, the Brewers also added two-time All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez, who hit .217 with 19 homers in 75 games for the New York Mets and San Diego Padres last season.
Although Haase batted .395 with a .465 on-base percentage, five homers and 14 RBIs in 18 Cactus League games, the Brewers decided against including three catchers on their season-opening roster and selected Sánchez as the lone backup for William Contreras.
The 21-year-old Quero is well-regarded as an excellent defensive catcher and MLB.com projects that he will make his debut this season. The Brewers are also dealing with injuries to Wade Miley and Brandon Woodruff at the big league level, with Woodruff expected to miss the whole season.
Here’s a portion of Quero’s MLB.com prospect profile:
Quero won a well-deserved 2023 Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove Award as he’s developed into arguably the Minors’ best defensive catcher.
His receiving and blocking – aided by his right-knee-down positioning – can be top-notch, and his framing can look as smooth as it gets.
His arm strength and quick reactions behind the plate also helped him throw out 34.6 percent of attempted Double-A basestealers, and those skills should help him limit opposing running games at a time when steals are taking off across baseball.
