Bounce back candidate: Free Agent Danny Jansen
Initially I thought Travis d'Arnaud might be a good fit in Toronto, a veteran catcher to compliment Alejandro Kirk with pop.
But the Los Angeles Angels picked him up on a 2 year $12 million deal so he is now off the board.
The next best thing would be a reunion with former Blue Jays back stop and now free agent Danny Jansen.
Jano is projected to earn an AAV of $5.2 Million by Sportrac in 2025, so a two year deal isn't out of the question.
Ross Atkins publicly said that another catcher isn't a priority, however Jansen would be a much better option than Tyler Heineman to pair with Kirk in 2025.
Truth be told, Jansen did not have a good 2024, not at all.
He batted .212/.303/.369 with six home runs in 62 games for Toronto, then was worse in Boston: .188/.323/.300 in 30 games.
Defensively he had the worst year of his career throwing out runners, just 10 in 72 attempts (13.9 percent), though he had been much better in prior years.
Strings of injuries which have limited Jano in 2024 which I suspect limited his production on both sides of the plate.
Many of these have been of the bad-luck variety - tipped balls, hit-by-pitches, but it has made Jansen a fascinating case as he enters free agency this winter.
Jansen has spent 12 years in the Blue Jays organization, stretching all the way back to the 16th round of the 2013 Draft.
He was the longest serving tenured Blue Jay until the trade to Boston last season.
Since then, the rugged catcher has become one of the most respected and beloved members of the organization, working tirelessly with pitching staffs while he developed his own offensive game.
Since reaching the Majors, Jansen has leaned into his identity as a hitter who pulls the ball for power.
He's looking for fastballs to yank over the left-field wall, and when he's healthy, he does just that.
«The biggest thing you want in a catcher is a bulldog back there, and that's Danny through and through,» Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman said recently.
«He wants to be in the trenches with you. He's a grimy guy. He's fine getting dirty. That's what you need for that position and he fits it perfectly.
Jano is one of my favorite teammates I've played with and that batterymate relationship is huge.»
Jansen is capable of handling any workload and could be a useful bench bat when he's swinging it right.
He has actually hit righties better than lefties over his career, so there's not much of a platoon split to be found, but Jansen has always brought the Blue Jays more value than shown by his stat line alone.
At just 29 years old, he will be one of the top catchers on the market this offseason.
The Blue Jays would be the obvious fit for Danny, but will Ross Atkins feel the same way? We will see.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 30 | 287 ANSWERS Bounce back candidate: Free Agent Danny Jansen Would a reunion with Danny Jansen be the right move for the Blue Jays? | ||
| Yes | 214 | 74.6 % |
| No | 73 | 25.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
