Jansen on my Own

 

When it became clear that the Blue Jays would potentially be sellers this season, a lot of ideas came to mind, like 'John Schneider potentially losing his job', 'Vlad Jr. being one of the top targets', 'Davis Schneider becoming even more valuable', things like that. One thing I did not predict happening? 'Danny Jansen becoming one of the most sought after trade pieces of 2024'.

I want to make it clear, Danny Jansen is not a bad player. In fact, in the post-2019 development of the Blue Jays, having a contact hitting catcher like Jansen in the org has made for some excellent organizational security. The team's gone through a ton of catching options since 2019, including Reese McGuire, Zack Collins, Gabriel Moreno and now Alejandro Kirk, and Jansen has persisted this whole time, mostly because he's durable. I think his lack of early hitting prowess made him a better backup option, but unlike a lot of other recent perennial backups [Tomas Nido, Seby Zavala, Austin Wynns], Jansen never got himself cut. He just kept on working, and even during the year of Alejandro Kirk's breakout, Jansen was just as valuable to this team as ever. 

So, yeah, Jansen is no slouch. I think he's been a backbone for these teams, and one of the most underrated catchers in baseball. But like...the way people are talking about him in the trade mill, it's sounding like Jansen is this key, killswitch piece, and like...yes, we get it, it's a weak pool for catchers, but let's not go crazy.

Obviously there's teams out there on the hunt for catchers. Phils might need one if JT's still gone in a month. Guardians could be on the hunt if Fry's being spread too thin. Maybe somebody else will swoop in for depth. And there's some solid options out there, namely the two Colorado catchers, Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings, as well as Shea Langeliers if people don't want a good defensive option, or Grandal if they wanna roll the dice. There's really not a ton of great catching options out there. And Jansen, as a decent, versatile catcher, is near the top of the list.

His season to date has already placed him there. Right now he's only hitting .230 with 16 RBIs and 5 homers, mostly as a backup to Alejandro Kirk. But the fact is that he's still pretty much in his prime, he's still a great catcher, and if the Jays still have Kirk they don't need a guy like Jansen platooning behind somebody. So if the Jays keep at this pace, I think Jansen's a fair bet to leave, despite how well he's done in Toronto.

But still, not only will the Jays still have Kirk behind the plate, but Brian Serven's still around, and he's had some success in Buffalo. So they'll be fine, even if they do start losing people. But again, that's a matter for a month from now. Until then, they've got to see if they can gain any ground on Tampa before the All-Star break.

Coming Tomorrow- Someone who was traded for Juan Soto. Y'see, that doesn't necessarily narrow it down these days..