I would try to get a new sata cable, the one with the secure clip that clicks.
It applies a little more pressure on the contacts and can save a drive...

My current drive, an old seagate, has the plastic supporting the contacts that is partly broken.
It caused the same troubles you are experiencing.

By using one of the cables I mentionned, the contacts are well placed and don't move at all, and this box has been stable like that for more than a year now, until I can purchase a reliable and affordable SSD.

Also, when plugging and unplugging drives, be ultra gentle with connections.
Be ultra gentle with SATA cables too, as you can pull on the connectors.
For some reason, those connectors have been designed with a very low manpulation number in mind (something like 50 connect/disconnect)... eventhough you have now hotswappable options which is in contradiction with low connect/disconnect.