What Craig Breslow Envisions Danny Jansen Bringing To Red Sox

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow identified three areas of improvement the front office would explore before the trade deadline — starting pitching, relief pitching and right-handed hitting — and on Saturday, an acquisition was made.

The Red Sox struck a deal with the American League East-rival Toronto Blue Jays, landing seven-year veteran catcher Danny Jansen in exchange for a trio of minor league prospects — Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino and Eddinson Paulino. Jansen has the advantage of having spent the entirety of his big league career sharing the same divisions as Boston, totaling 30 games played at Fenway Park, the 29-year-old’s new home.

Breslow, who 24 hours ago acquired southpaw starting pitcher James Paxton from the Los Angeles Dodgers, envisions Jansen checking a few boxes upon joining the Red Sox.

“Danny gives us a right-handed bat that should play very well at Fenway,” Breslow said after the trade was finalized, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “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.”

Jansen played 61 games with the Blue Jays this season, hitting .212 with six home runs and 18 RBIs, following up an elite 2023 campaign in which he notched a career-high in homers (17) and RBIs (53). The right-handed hitter has batted .244 when facing left-handed pitchers this season — in 51 total plate appearances.

With Jansen joining the big league club, the Red Sox now have a third catcher on the roster, joining Connor Wong and Reese McGuire.