MLB Trade Grades: Blue Jays move Danny Jansen to Boston for a trio of prospects

By Zack Meisel, C. Trent Rosecrans and Cody Stavenhagen

Boston Red Sox get: C Danny Jansen

Toronto Blue Jays get: INFs Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino, RHP Gilberto Batista

Zack Meisel: For Toronto, this is a no-brainer. The Blue Jays sit in last place in the AL East, and even if they’re clutching onto hope that they can rebound next season, trading away anyone who isn’t part of the 2025 plan is a start. That means Jansen, who will head to free agency this winter as perhaps the top option in a weak catching market. If any of the three players they acquired from the Red Sox pans out, it’s a win. Coffey, of course, seems like the best bet.

As for the Red Sox, backup catcher wasn’t their greatest need, not that a team should be penalized for upgrading their roster while attempting to nail down a wild-card spot. They rank last in the majors — by light years — in offensive output at second base, for instance. They rank well just about everywhere else (especially once they get first baseman Triston Casas back from injury), though there’s still room for another bat. Jansen was one of the better-hitting catchers in the last three years, though he has stumbled in 2024. He still has excellent plate discipline, with an elite chase rate and healthy walk and strikeout rates. Oh, and he is perhaps the league’s premier blocker of baseballs behind the plate.

Odds are, one day, we’ll look back and say, “This was a trade that happened.”

Red Sox: B-
Blue Jays: B

#BlueJays officially announce they have traded Danny Jansen to the Red Sox for INF Cutter Coffey, INF Eddinson Paulino and RHP Gilberto Batista

— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) July 27, 2024

C. Trent Rosecrans: In 2021, Jansen and Reese McGuire split time behind the plate for the Blue Jays, with McGuire starting 61 games and Jansen 54, while Alejandro Kirk started another 40. The next year, Kirk became the team’s everyday catcher and the Blue Jays picked Jansen over McGuire for the backup spot, trading McGuire to the White Sox near the end of the spring training. With Jansen coming over from the Blue Jays, it seems he’ll once again squeeze McGuire out for the backup job.

Jansen’s not a huge upgrade, but he is an upgrade and that’s not nothing.

Coffey, 20, was Boston’s second-round pick in 2022, taken 41st. At High-A Greenville, he’s hitting .238/.321/.463 with 12 doubles and 14 homers. Coffey and two other useful players seem like a pretty good haul for a backup catcher who will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Red Sox: B-
Blue Jays: B+

Cody Stavenhagen: We’ll see exactly how Jansen fits with the Red Sox. He’s a right-handed hitter, which would seem to fill an obvious need. But he has hit righties (.747 OPS) better than lefties (.697 OPS) throughout his career, so it doesn’t exactly add up to filling Boston’s weak spot against lefties.

At catcher, Boston already has Connor Wong, who is hitting .299 but does not grade out well defensively, and McGuire. Despite a down year at the plate, Jansen still represents an upgrade over McGuire. There’s pop in his bat, and he’s one of the best blocking catchers in the game.

The Red Sox aren’t giving up a ton of impact, but will renting a catcher ultimately prove to be worth the prospect capital? Coffey has solid power potential, but he’s hitting only .238 in High A. He’s the type of player a team like the Blue Jays may find worth taking a risk on, but questions about his defense and plate discipline shroud his profile.

Paulino is having a strong year but still profiles as a fringy infielder, and Batista is a true lottery ticket.

Three players for a rental catcher is still solid, and overall, the Jansen fit seems a bit odd and unlikely to push the Red Sox over the top.

Red Sox: B-
Blue Jays: B

(Photo of Danny Jansen: Paul Rutherford / Getty Images)