Danny Jansen reflects on 11 years with the Blue Jays organization: ‘I grew up here, became a man here, raised a family’
Photo credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 29, 2024, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 29, 2024, 09:04 EDT
After sinking into the basement of the American League (AL) East division, the Toronto Blue Jays have become a reluctant seller at the trade deadline. As Toronto gradually slipped out of the AL Wild Card race, the team solidified its seller status on Friday, July 26, with the trade of reliever Yimi Garcia to the Seattle Mariners for outfield prospect Jonatan Clase and catching prospect Jacob Sharp. But the Blue Jays were far from done at the deadline as they carefully crafted and evaluated their future – this was merely the beginning.
While the Blue Jays secured a game and series win against the Texas Rangers on Saturday, July 27, with a score of 7-3, they announced their long-time catcher Danny Jansen’s trade to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitching prospect Gilberto Batista and infielders Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino.
From the team’s perspective, moving Jansen before reaching his free agency made the most sense as the probability of a potential extension dwindled over time. However, from more of an emotional point of view, Jansen’s trade signalled the start of the end of an era for the fanbase. That’s not to say Toronto is tearing everything down completely at this trade deadline. It’s most likely that Toronto’s front office keeps the key core players like first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette together to run it back the next season. Even so, the Blue Jays have come to a place where they needed to reconstruct an integral part of the team to fill in the gaps and replenish the farm system. All this transition indicates an inevitable change to the team whether the Blue Jays planned for it or not.
With that in mind, Jansen’s trade struck the chord both on the field and off the field as the Blue Jays reminisced on his 11-year tenure. When Toronto designated reliever Tim Mayza for assignment earlier in the year, Jansen quickly became the longest-tenured Blue Jay and carried out his veteran presence in the clubhouse and on the field. Ever since his draft in 2013, Jansen grew up in the Blue Jays’ system. That 17-year-old catching prospect in Toronto’s system grew into a stalwart and consistent player in over a decade. As Toronto’s starting pitcher Kevin Gausman said, Jansen was a staple “in this lineup, in this stadium, on this field, behind that plate.” Most of all, he’s also been “a hell of a baseball player.”
When the trade was announced, Jansen himself attested to the fact that he was raised within the Blue Jays organization and became a man who eventually raised a family of his own. It was simply hard for the Blue Jays to separate emotions from Jansen’s trade because of his meaning to the organization. This was especially an impossible task for Toronto’s manager John Schneider as he recalled meeting Jansen for the first time as a catching prospect in 2013. Schneider was Jansen’s first manager in pro ball and even stated that Jansen was almost like a third kid and son because of that connection.
Numbers aside, Jansen’s presence couldn’t be overstated within the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. Jansen showed flashes of his potential during Toronto’s golden era in 2016 and despite his battles with injuries, made himself valuable to this playoff-hopeful team as the Blue Jays built their contention window around younger players like himself. Many contenders valued Jansen’s batting potential and solid defence as an asset at the deadline until the Red Sox ultimately won the trade to bulk up their catching depth for the second half of the season.
Jansen’s departure has already ushered in a shift in the Blue Jays roster and system altogether. Toronto continues to find ways to keep some semblance of the core together for another chance at contention next season while making fringe moves to complement the future roster while building up the depleted farm system. So far, Jansen’s trade symbolizes both the end of the last hope and the dawn of something new for the Blue Jays. Whether that new dawn pans out or not will remain a question until the beginning of the revamped team comes.