The Boston Red Sox pulled off their second trade in as many days, this time with an American League East rival before Saturday night’s matchup against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Boston is reportedly finalizing a trade to acquire catcher Danny Jansen from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor league infielder Cutter Coffey, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, which would fill one of the team’s several needs heading into the MLB trade deadline — right-handed-hitting. The Red Sox have leaned on Connor Wong and Reese McGuire — a left-handed hitter — to split duties behind the plate this season.
Jansen has spent seven seasons in the big leagues, all in Toronto, giving him plenty of experience against the Red Sox and playing at Fenway Park (30 games). Eligible for free agency following this season, Jansen joins Friday’s Boston trade acquisition James Paxton as the organization’s second rental addition.
The 29-year-old is batting .212 with six home runs, 13 doubles and 18 RBIs in 61 games, recording a .303 on-base percentage and .369 slugging percentage. Jansen has hit .244/.373/.293 in 41 at-bats against left-handed pitching, as opposed to .204/.283/.389 when at the plate against right-handers (157 at-bats).
Just last season, Jansen set a career-high in home runs (17) and RBIs (53) and he’ll look to end 2024 on a strong note before testing out the market in free agency this upcoming offseason.
