Former Blue Jay off to sizzling start for the Rays in Spring Training

Danny Jansen homered in his first at-bat with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Jansen the homered again, twice in his first three Spring Training at-bats with
the Rays.

One fan quipped that Jansen is the current Spring Training home run leader.

Jansen, 29, spent his entire career to date with the Blue Jays and, briefly this summer, the Red Sox.

He's a rebound candidate looking to bounce back after a down year at the plate in which he slashed just .206/.308/.348 in 328 plate appearances.

It was a rough 2024 and a particularly rough finish for Jansen, but heading into the season he looked primed for a notable deal in free agency.

From 2021-23, he slashed a combined .237/.317/.487 (121 wRC+) - including a huge .260/.339/.516 showing in 2022.

(Anecdotally, Jansen also became the first player in MLB history to play for both teams in the same game, starting for the Jays in a rain-suspended game against the Red Sox that was subsequently finished in the second half - after he'd been traded to Boston.)

Jansen has typically rated as a solid but not elite defender.

Statcast gave him plus grades for blocking pitches in the dirt and slightly below-average framing marks last year.

Jansen has a career 20% caught-stealing rate but sits just over 13% in the past two seasons.

However, he's fractured the middle finger and the wrist in his throwing hand over those two seasons, either of which could have a subsequent impact on his throwing; Jansen's average 1.99 second pop time is still right in line with where it sat in 2022 (1.98 seconds).

Blue Jays fans were hoping Ross Atkins would bring Jansen back in 2025, but that never materialized.