Red Sox

4 things to know about new Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen

Jansen's sudden change to start wearing glasses might have helped him reach the majors after a struggling stretch in the minors.

By Conor Roche

July 28, 2024

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The Red Sox made their second notable move ahead of the trade deadline on Saturday, adding some catching depth that they hope can help at the plate.

Boston acquired catcher Danny Jansen in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, sending out three prospects in order to get the deal done. Jansen has spent his entire professional career with the Blue Jays, who selected him in the 16th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

As Jansen prepares to play for his first new home since becoming a major leaguer in 2018, here are four things to know about the Red Sox catcher.

He’s in the midst of a struggling season at the plate, but he might be a bit unlucky.

The 29-year-old might be having his worst hitting season over his seven years in the majors. His .212 batting average is the third-worst of his career while his .303 on-base percentage is the second-worst mark he’s had.

In terms of power, Jansen has had six homers in 198 at-bats. His 2.6 percent home run percentage is the worst mark of his career.

Some of Jansen’s metrics suggest he’s been slightly unlucky this season though. His expected batting average (.217) and expected slugging percentage (.371) are a bit better than his real batting average and slugging percentage, per Baseball Savant.

Still, those marks are relatively unimpressive. His expected batting average is in the eighth percentile and his 34.2 percent hard hit percentage is in the 20th percentile among eligible hitters this season.

However, Jansen has been disciplined at the plate. His 19.6 chase percentage is in the 94th percentile and his 11 percent walk rate is in the 81st percentile among eligible hitters.

His career numbers at Fenway Park aren’t too great.

One might think that a right-handed hitter with Jansen’s pop would have solid numbers at Fenway. But as he’s made numerous trips to Fenway Park over the years with the Blue Jays, the catcher’s stats aren’t too great at his new home.

Jansen has a .184 batting average over 100 career plate appearances at Fenway Park. His OPS is only .623 to go with four homers and 14 RBIs over his 30 career games at Fenway.

Even though Jansen hasn’t been a standout at Fenway, he did have a pair of strong performances there in 2022. He hit a pair of home runs in the Blue Jays’ 28-5 win over the Red Sox that season and hit another home run in a game at Fenway later that year.

While Jansen hasn’t hit too well at his new home, he’s put some solid numbers in ballparks where the Red Sox will play some key games over the next couple of months and in stadiums that might be playing at in October. He’s hit .314 with a .909 OPS and three homers over 22 career games at Yankee Stadium. He has a career .277 batting average at Camden Yards to go with five homers in 27 career games there.

His Blue Jays teammates thought of him as the ‘quarterback’ of their team.

When news struck the Blue Jays locker room that Jansen would be traded following their win over the Rangers on Saturday, pitcher Kevin Gausman remarked on the catcher’s importance with the team.

“The catcher position, that’s the quarterback of the team,” Gausman told reporters. “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.”

Jansen has split catching duties with Alejandro Kirk for much of the last four seasons, but he was a mainstay in Toronto. He played the fifth-most games ever for a catcher in Blue Jays history (471) and was Toronto’s longest-tenured player at the time of the trade.

In terms of defensive value, Jansen has been a plus at most areas over his career. His 11 blocks above average are the second-most in baseball this season, per Baseball Savant. He’s ranked in the top seven in that in all but two seasons of his career.

Jansen has also typically ranked in the top half among catchers in framing strikes, though his 44.1 percent strike rate this season ranks 41st among catchers, according to Baseball Savant.

SportsNet’s Caleb Joseph believes that Jansen being traded within the division could also help the Red Sox behind the plate.

“If you’re going to trade for a catcher at the deadline, I feel like the best opportunity for success on both ends is inter-division,” the former MLB catcher said. “Danny Jansen knows those Boston Red Sox pitchers from facing them. He’s going to know how to work with them as a catcher.

“I suited up with Danny Jansen in 2020, and when it comes to the care level and investment level as a catcher and teammate, he’s one of the best.”

He found out he had astigmatism when he was in the minors.

Jansen’s distinctive feature is his glasses, rocking them when he’s in the batter’s box and behind the plate.

He didn’t always wear glasses though and had to make a sudden change when he was in the minors. As he was struggling in Single-A, one of Jansen’s teammates noticed he struggled to read a sign on the road and suggested to the catcher that he try wearing contacts.

Jansen initially refused even though he only hit .218 with a homer with Single-A Dunedin that season, telling SportsNet he thought his blurry vision was due to being tired.

“I didn’t want to believe I had bad eyes,” Jansen told SportsNet’s Kristina Rutherford in 2018.

Jansen eventually gave in ahead of the 2017 season. He found he had astigmatism in both eyes following a visit with an optometrist, causing him to get glasses that had a -.75 prescription. Simply wearing glasses paid major dividends for Jansen, moving up from Single-A to Triple-A by the end of 2017. He hit .323 with 10 homers in 104 games in the minors that season.

When Jansen got the glasses, he explained to Rutherford that “half the things you see without glasses are blurry.” Even though he credited some tweaks he made to his batting approach for the improved hitting stats in the minors, Jansen also acknowledged that the glasses helped.

“The glasses thing is crazy, and I do owe a lot of why I’m here to the glasses,” Jansen told Rutherford. “I get why people want to talk about it. … I mean, being able to see clearly is kind of huge.”