Red Sox trade for catcher from Blue Jays in exchange for 3 minor leaguers
Boston dealt prospects Gilberto Batista, Cutter Coffey, and Eddinson Paulino for Danny Jansen on Saturday.
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Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters on Friday that the team planned to acquire a right-handed hitter before MLB’s July 30 trade deadline. He did just that on Saturday prior to Boston’s game against the Yankees.
In a deal with the Blue Jays, the Red Sox traded for catcher Danny Jansen in exchange for three minor leaguers. Infielders Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino plus pitcher Gilberto Batista are headed to Toronto from Boston’s farm system.
Entering Saturday, Coffey was listed as the Red Sox’ 28th-ranked prospect by SoxProspects.com. Paulino was the organization’s 15th-ranked minor leaguer while Batista was unranked.
As for Jansen, he split playing time with Alejandro Kirk behind the dish with Toronto this season. He will be one of Boston’s three catchers alongside Connor Wong and Reese McGuire as of Saturday. The addition of Jansen may certainly fuel a roster move in the team’s catching department ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
Breslow spoke to MLB.com’s Ian Browne about the team’s decision to acquire Jansen.
“Danny gives us a right-handed bat that should play very well at Fenway,” Breslow said via text. “He hits the ball really hard and in the air, which is especially advantageous in our ballpark. We liked our catching situation coming into the deadline but saw an opportunity to strengthen that group.”
Through 61 games this year, Jansen is batting .212 with a .672 OPS. The 29-year-old is averaging .244 against left-handed pitchers and .204 against righties. The Red Sox wanted to add a righty bat to bolster their lineup against southpaws, so Jansen will likely be in the lineup on Wong’s off days instead of McGuire, a lefty hitter batting .209 on the season.
Furthermore, Jansen has hit six home runs and driven in 18 runs this year. He’s crossed home plate 27 times and drawn 25 walks. Defensively, Jansen has a .993 fielding percentage behind home plate in 2024. He’s thrown out seven base runners, but 44 players have stolen a base against him in 54 games at catcher.
Given the fact that Boston dealt a handful of lower-ranked prospects for a big-leaguer, it’s evident that the team wants to avoid giving up major league players in trades. While some roster moves will more than likely need to be made to accommodate acquisitions, the Red Sox seem content with fielding its current 26-man roster down the stretch.