5:25pm: The Jays are getting three prospects, together with Coffey, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X hyperlink).
5:05pm: The deal is in place, tweets Jeff Passan of ESPN. Infield prospect Cutter Coffey is among the many gamers going to Toronto.
4:09pm: The Crimson Sox and Blue Jays are in severe talks on a commerce that might ship catcher Danny Jansen to Boston, reviews Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (X hyperlink).
Jansen is the second impending free agent traded by Toronto in as many days. They despatched righty reliever Yimi García to Seattle yesterday.Yusei Kikuchi is a lock to maneuver by subsequent Tuesday, whereas Trevor Richards, Justin Turner and Kevin Kiermaier may go as effectively. The Jays have up to now been immune to buying and selling key gamers whom they management past this season.
The 29-year-old Jansen is the highest impending free agent catcher. He as soon as gave the impression to be working away with that title and appeared on observe for a three- or four-year deal. That’s not the case anymore, as his bat has wilted over the previous couple months. Jansen carried a strong .287/.371/.535 slash line into June. He’s hitting .134/.232/.196 in 112 plate appearances since that time. His stroll and strikeout charges are proper round common, however he solely has one dwelling run and 4 extra-base hits over the previous two months.
Jansen’s total .212/.303/.369 slash is seven share factors beneath league common, as measured by wRC+. That’s superb output for a catcher however beneath Jansen’s typical degree. He was an above-average hitter in all three seasons from 2021-23, combining for a .237/.317/.487 mark in 754 journeys to the plate. At his greatest, Jansen blends a affected person method with good contact abilities and double-digit homer energy. He’s amidst one of many worst stretches of his profession however clearly has the expertise to carry out higher than he has over the previous couple months.
Earlier than his current stoop, the most important knock on Jansen was his lack of availability. He has been on the injured listing seven instances over the previous 4 seasons as a result of hamstring, indirect, groin, and hand accidents. A few of these have been fluke occurrences sustained on a hit-by-pitch, together with a season-opening IL keep this yr as a result of a proper wrist fracture sustained in Spring Coaching. However, the accidents have dealt successful to his worth. Jansen has solely as soon as reached 90 video games in a season. His profession excessive sits at 107 video games performed and 384 plate appearances again in 2019.
The Crimson Sox have had one of many extra productive catching teams in baseball. They entered play at present with a .280/.349/.407 slash on the place. That’s virtually totally due to a breakout yr from Connor Wong, who’s hitting .299/.362/.440 in 77 video games. Backup Reese McGuire owns a .209/.280/.295 mark over 53 contests. McGuire is out of choices and could possibly be squeezed off the roster totally as soon as the Jansen deal turns into official. Boston would in any other case want to hold three catchers.
Jansen is a high quality defender who may break up time between catcher and designated hitter. He’s additionally a right-handed hitter, a said aim for Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, although he’s been extra productive towards same-handed pitchers than southpaws over the previous few years. The Sox should search for a extra conventional lefty masher who may rotate via the outfield.
The Jays and Jansen agreed to a $5.2MM wage for his ultimate arbitration season. Boston will tackle roughly $1.8MM in remaining wage. RosterResource calculates their aggressive steadiness tax simply shy of $220MM. Pushing close to $222MM nonetheless leaves them with roughly $15MM earlier than reaching the bottom threshold, so the entrance workplace ought to have loads of monetary margin for future pickups.
Toronto continues its look in the direction of the longer term. Coffey, a right-handed hitting infielder, was a second-round pick of highschool two seasons in the past. The 20-year-old has spent the complete yr in Excessive-A, the place he owns a .238/.321/.463 slash line. Coffey has drilled 14 homers and 12 doubles in 61 video games. He’s strolling at a strong 10.3% clip towards a barely elevated 24% strikeout fee. He has performed largely third base with some motion at each center infield spots.
Extra to come back.
