Last month, Eric Haase was in limbo.
It was still the holiday season, and he was spending time with family when the Cleveland Indians designated the catcher for assignment on Dec. 29. The front office told Haase that they were pretty confident they would trade him — it was a matter of when, and to which team.
With Major League Baseball’s offices closed during the holidays, the wait was longer than usual.
But when his phone rang on Jan. 8, the wait proved to be worth it: On the other line was Tigers general manager Al Avila.