TORONTO, CA: The Toronto Blue Jays currently find themselves dead last in the gauntlet of the AL East. With no real chance at a playoff spot, the Blue Jays are likely to be sellers at the 2024 trade deadline. Their next player drawing interest on the trade market? Their veteran catcher, Danny Jansen.
Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen has piqued the Cubs' interest, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. At this moment, it's unknown how serious the talks between the parties have grown.
The team has endured a precipitous decline in the rankings, landing at just 43-52, 14 games out of the AL East and 9.5 games short of a postseason berth. Fangraphs estimates that the club's chances of making the playoffs are now only 1.6% due to the enormous disadvantage in the standings.
It makes sense that the team is supposedly "expressing openness" to moving on from rental players this summer given such bleak odds.
One of the club's more interesting rental players is 29-year-old Jansen. The Wisconsin native, who was first selected by the Blue Jays in the 16th round of the 2013 draft, made his major league debut with Toronto in 2018. During his early career, he primarily struggled at the plate. He entered the 2021 season with a mediocre slash line of.208/.297/.370 (79 wRC+).
Thankfully, with rookie Alejandro Kirk joining Toronto in 2021, Toronto started to rely less on Jansen behind the plate. Jansen experienced a comeback offensively from 2021–2023, although playing in an average of only 76 games annually. Over those three seasons, in 754 at-bats, he experienced a good increase in his wRC+ to 121.
When the 2024 season began, Jansen was slashing an amazing .287/.371/.535 until the end of May, and it looked like he may have his finest season ever. In those 116 trips to the plate, he struck out just 15.5% of the time while walking at a 12.1% pace and launching five home runs. Combined with his career-long record of mostly excellent defensive grades behind the plate, it should make him a very desirable free agent this winter.
Since then, Jansen's season has taken a turn for the worst. Jansen's performance in 91 at-bats since the beginning of June has been mediocre .141/.253/.218 in 26 games. Jansen’s name could very well pop up in the coming weeks leading up to the deadline.
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