6:25 PM UTC
Veteran backstop Danny Jansen and the Rays have agreed on a one-year, $8 million contract, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Friday. The deal, which was initially reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and FanSided’s Robert Murray, has a mutual option for 2026 with a $500,000 buyout. The team has not confirmed.
Jansen played 91 games last season for the Blue Jays and Red Sox, who acquired him from Toronto in a trade in late July. He hit .205 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs over 324 plate appearances.
But even though his offense lacked in 2024, Jansen was the best blocking catcher in the Majors. He led all catchers with +15 Blocks Above Average, according to Statcast.
And Jansen was an above-average offensive catcher for the Blue Jays in each of the three seasons prior to 2024. He had 11 home runs and a 105 OPS+ in 2021, 15 home runs and a 142 OPS+ in 2022 and 17 home runs and a 114 OPS+ in 2023.
That’s an average of 14 homers a year and a 120 OPS+ — meaning Jansen was 20 percent better than a league-average hitter — over that three-season stretch. Jansen will be looking to bounce back to that level in 2025.
Jansen was the youngest catcher on the market this winter, as he enters his age-30 season in 2025. He and Carson Kelly were the only free-agent catchers who were still in their 20s last season.
Originally a 16th-round Draft pick by Toronto in 2013, Jansen has spent seven seasons in the Majors. He’s a .220 career hitter with 74 home runs and 220 RBIs in 501 games.
Jansen was also part of a weird piece of baseball history in 2024 when he became the first player in MLB history to play for both teams in the same game.
The Red Sox and Blue Jays played a game last season that began on June 26, was suspended due to rain and continued on Aug. 26. Jansen started the game at catcher for Toronto, then was traded to the Red Sox, and played the remainder of the game for Boston after it resumed.
