Blue Jays: A few teams that could use Danny Jansen on their roster

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The Toronto Blue Jays possess a few quality catchers in the organization, with Reese McGuire and Danny Jansen on the active roster and a plethora of talent in the minor league system in Alejandro Kirk, Riley Adams, and Gabriel Moreno.

Right now, McGuire has been getting most of the reps after Jansen went on the injured list, with Adams getting some major league exposure and Kirk currently down in AAA after being on the IL since early May. Moreno is currently dealing with a fractured thumb and is also on the injured list as well.

With the Blue Jays looking to make another run at the postseason this year, it would make sense to possibly deal from an area of depth in the organization in order to shore up some weaker areas on the roster such as the pitching corps and the left-side of the diamond. While the club could deal a prospect like Kirk or Moreno, Jansen also possesses some trade value considering he has experience in the major leagues and a gold glove nomination back in 2019. The Blue Jays also seem to be very interested in keeping their younger catchers and with Jansen starting to fall out of favour with the club, now is a good time to see what his trade value stands at as the season marches towards the trade deadline.

The Toronto Blue Jays have a significant amount of depth at the catching position throughout the organization and could trade Danny Jansen to help solidify areas on the current active roster to try and reach the postseason.

His bat has tapered off since joining the big leagues, slashing .201/.290/.356 through 658 at-bats, but he does have three years of arbitration before becoming eligible for free agency. He can compete at the major league level and a change of scenery could be good for Jansen where he could potentially find his rhythm at the plate.

Here are three teams who could use Danny Jansen on their roster:

Chicago White Sox

At the mid-way point of the season, the Chicago White Sox currently have an 8 game lead on the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central and have been playing well to the tune of a 51-35 record.

Earlier this week, White Sox starting catcher Yasmani Grandal was placed on the injured list after tearing a tendon in his knee. He is currently slated to miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery, a significant amount of time for a team poised to make the playoffs. With Zack Collins and his .236/.329/.390 slash line as the starting catcher, having Jansen on the roster could bode well especially since Grandal will be a free agent at the end of the year.

Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal underwent successful surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left knee, source said. He is expected to miss roughly five weeks.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 7, 2021

The issue with trading with the White Sox is that since both teams are vying for a postseason berth, it will be tough for the Blue Jays to get an established roster player in return. The Jays could try and get some pitching depth or potentially some infield help, but it seems unlikely that a trade would happen with the club receiving a major league player.

While the matchup makes sense with Chicago needing catching help, it seems like it wouldn’t benefit the Blue Jays postseason efforts this season to send Jansen to the Sox.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Bringing up the rear in the NL Central is the Pittsburgh Pirates, an organization going through the tough task of a rebuild and currently sport a 32-54 record.

At the catcher position, the Pirates are rolling with Jacob Stallings and Michael Perez, with both players struggling to perform well at the plate this season. Each catcher has been used more as a backup for their respective careers with Stallings taking on more of a starting role this year.

In the Pirates depth charts, there are currently no catchers within the club’s 30 top prospects and they are also looking at potentially selling off some assests to assist the rebuild. They have already traded first baseman Josh Bell and RHP Jameson Taillon in an attempt to bring in some prospects earlier this year and this trade deadline could result in another fire sale.

After the Blue Jays acquired some much-needed bullpen help in a trade with the Marlins on Monday, they're also reportedly among teams looking at Pirates closer Richard Rodriguez.https://t.co/hGguk6xEZX
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 30, 2021

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Danny Jansen would tandem well beside Stallings and with both players having three years of arbitration, they would be around for the rebuilding years within the Pirates organization. The team also has a former Blue Jays executive at the helm in Ben Cherington, where a potential deal could be made between former staff.

In return, the Blue Jays have a variety of bullpen pitchers that could entice Ross Atkins to send Jansen to Pittsburgh, with closer Richard Rodriguez hopefully the main focal point in any potential trade discussions. They could also target second baseman Adam Frazier in trade talks but he is most likely going to command some signficant prospect capital in return with the incredible season he is having.

Colorado Rockies

While they may not be the last-placed team in the NL West (the Arizona Diamondbacks take that title), the Colorado Rockies are in a peculiar position as the season marches on towards the trade deadline.

They have their best player in Trevor Story heading towards free agency at the end of season and do not appear to be willing to deal one of their top starters in German Marquez. The Rockies should have some players available like Story, RHP Jon Gray, 1B C.J. Cron, and RHP Mychal Givens, with the Blue Jays most likely interested in their pitching corps rather than Cron or an outfielder. They could go after Story but he would most likely command a significant amount of prospect capital in return, a risky move considering he is a rental player with his looming free-agent status.

Danny Jansen would fill a need at the catching position for the Rockies, as their top catching prospect in Drew Romo is year’s away from knocking on the major league door. They currently feature Elias Diaz and Dom Nunez behind the plate, and while Diaz has been playing well as of late, Jansen has two more years of abritation over the current Rockies starting catcher. This would benefit the club if they truly decide to head towards a rebuild, something that the team has not appeared to embrace as of yet.

dark. Next. What does/could the bullpen depth chart look like now?

In return, the Rockies feature some solid arms in that would be a significant upgrade in the bullpen like Givens or Daniel Bard, but the Blue Jays could target Gray on a rental basis until the end of the season. Givens and Gray would be an upgrade to the pitching corps while Bard had a few outings in June that saw him give up a few earned runs and two blown saves. Bard would be a bit of a risky trade in terms of trying to improve the bullpen, but Givens should be the main target.

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The Toronto Blue Jays have a significant amount of depth at the catching position throughout the organization and could trade Danny Jansen to help solidify areas on the current active roster to try and reach the postseason.

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