Red Sox trade for Blue Jays catcher, send three prospects to Toronto

The Red Sox have officially acquired Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen in a four-player trade, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In return, Boston sent minor league infielders Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino and pitcher Gilberto Batista to Toronto.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Jansen, the Red Sox designated Triple-A righty Alex Speas for assignment. They will have to make another move to add Jansen to the 26-man roster.

Jansen is a right-handed hitter, an area Boston needs. But he hasn’t played any positions other than catcher and DH during his major league career. And so it’s unclear where he fits in with Connor Wong and Reese McGuire already behind the plate for the Red Sox.

Red Sox baseball executive Craig Breslow said via text message Saturday night that he is pleased to have Jansen join the Red Sox.

“Danny gives us a right-handed hitter who should do very well in Fenway,” Breslow said. “He hits the ball very hard and in the air, which is an advantage especially in our stadium. We liked our catching situation as we got closer to the deadline, but we saw an opportunity to strengthen that group. We’ll see how the pieces fit together in the coming days.”

Jansen, 29, has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2013. He is a rental, as he is eligible for free agency after the 2024 season. He is making $5.2 million this year, leaving the Red Sox to pay about $1.75 million the rest of the way. He has four career home runs in Boston.

Jansen is hitting .212 with a .303 on-base percentage, .369 slugging percentage, .672 OPS, six homers, 13 doubles, 27 runs, 18 RBIs, 25 walks and 42 strikeouts in 61 games (228 plate appearances). He is hitting .222 with a .308 on-base percentage, .425 slugging percentage and .733 OPS in 470 major league games over seven seasons.

He has a .244/.373/.293/.665 line in 51 plate appearances against lefties this season. He has actually hit better against righties (.230/.310/.438/.747, 1,137 plate appearances) than lefties (.202/.303/.394/.697, 471 plate appearances) in his career.

Jansen is a strong blocker behind the plate. He ranks in the 98th percentile in blocks above average (11). But he ranks only in the 38th percentile in framing (-1) and the 23rd percentile in pop time (1.99), according to Baseball Savant.

Baseball America has Paulino, a 22-year-old infielder, ranked No. 18 in Boston’s system. MassLive has him ranked No. 22 in the system for 2024.

Coffey, who turned 20 on May 21, was selected in the second round of the 2022 draft and is ranked Boston’s No. 21 prospect for 2023 by Baseball America. However, he is no longer listed on BA’s Top 30 Red Sox list.

Gilberto Batista, a 19-year-old right-handed pitcher in the Florida Complex League, is a lesser-known prospect who won the organization’s 2023 Latin Program Pitcher of the Year award.

The Red Sox acquired starting pitcher James Paxton from the Dodgers on Friday. Boston is still open to adding another starting pitcher, while also seeking bullpen help and a right-handed hitter. The deadline for the trade is Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Paxton is expected to join the team in Boston on Sunday and make his first start on Tuesday. It is unclear when Jansen will arrive.