Everyone in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse knew Danny Jansen was a lock to be traded before this year’s deadline but the advance warning didn’t make the news any easier to take once it happened.
Some goodbyes are harder than others and Jansen was the longest-tenured player on the roster. He joined the Jays as a skinny 17-year-old and finished his time here ranked fifth in games played for catchers at 471.
Jansen, who is a pending free agent at the end of the year, was sent to the Red Sox on Saturday for prospects Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino and Gilberto Batista. It was the second deal of the day for the Jays, who earlier traded Nate Pearson to the Cubs for a pair of minor leaguers.
“I grew up here, became a man here, raised a family,” Jansen said. “There are just a whole lot of emotions, but I’m excited to go to an atmosphere that I’ve played in as a visitor, and to continue on.”
Jansen found out about the trade as he walked into the clubhouse following a 7-3 victory over the Rangers. He looked up and saw it on a ticker scrolling across the television and didn’t even need to do a double take. The 29-year-old knew he was heading out of town, the only uncertainty was to which team.
Soon after, Jansen was ushered into manager John Schneider’s office where he was informed the news was true. He then went around the clubhouse saying his goodbyes to teammates, coaches and employees of an organization he had been with since 2013.
Jansen later took a moment to walk onto the field of the only major-league home ballpark he has known. The Illinois native looked around and couldn’t help but remember some of his favourite moments: his first Canada Day game in 2019, his first home playoff game in 2022 and the fondness he had playing for an entire country.
“I’ve known him since he was 17 years old, this is tough,” said Schneider, who at one point appeared to be fighting back tears. “I met him as a kid in the Gulf Coast League and throwing a football with him when he couldn’t reach second base. It’s hard to see him leave, but it’s part of it and hopefully our paths cross again.”
Jansen’s departure leaves Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jordan Romano as the only holdovers at the big-league level from former general manager Alex Anthopoulos’s tenure. The 16th-round pick said he wasn’t going to close the door on returning as a free agent, but that his current focus was on adjusting to life with the Red Sox.
The Jays are moving forward, too, as they continue to sell off assets in advance of Tuesday’s deadline. They traded reliever Yimi Garcia to the Mariners on Friday for Triple-A outfielder Jonatan Clase and low-level catcher Jacob Sharp. Pearson was sent to the Cubs on Saturday for Double-A shortstop Josh Rivera and outfielder Yohendrick Pinango.
The Jays received a trio of prospects for Jansen. Paulino was ranked Boston’s No. 23 prospect by and . Coffey didn’t crack Pipeline’s list, but he was right behind Paulino on FanGraphs’ ranking at No. 26.
Paulino’s best season came in 2022 when he slugged 13 homers with an .827 on-base plus slugging percentage in Class A. His progress stalled the following year and he has since moved to Double-A where he is batting .263 with a .740 OPS. He projects as a future utility player who should be able to hit for average but has yet to develop much power.
Coffey made a name for himself earlier this season by homering in six consecutive games at Class-A Greenville. The 20-year-old infielder has legitimate power, but he lacks consistency. He had a .300/.391/.638 slash line in June but has hit just .206/.285/.375 the rest of the year. Batista is a 19-year-old pitcher in rookie ball.
Much like the Pearson deal, the Jays essentially bought themselves a few lottery tickets. It’s a necessary step for a team that has no shot at contending, and one players begrudgingly began accepting weeks ago.
“The catcher position, that’s the quarterback of the team,” Jays starter Kevin Gausman said. “He has been here for a long time. He has been a staple in this lineup, in this stadium, on this field and behind that plate. We’re going to miss him … I understand the business, but he is a hell of a person, hell of a baseball player.”
The goodbye hugs will continue in the coming days. Yusei Kikuchi, Trevor Richards and Justin Turner are among those still being shopped but none made the same impression as Jansen thanks to his decade-plus with the club.
Change is never easy. Unfortunately, after this season turned into a failure, it became something the Jays couldn’t avoid.
Correction
July 28, 2024: This story has been updated from a previously published version to fix that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jordan Romano are the only holdovers at the big-league level from former general manager Alex Anthopoulos’s tenure. An earlier version only included Guerrero.
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