The Blue Jays have played some better baseball of late, but still find themselves in the basement of the consistently competitive AL East. With a 30-32 record, the team would have to go 59-41 the rest of the way to equal last year’s record, which was just barely good enough to sneak into the playoffs as a wild-card team. While it’s still possible, it appears more and more likely that unless the Jays get hot over the next few weeks, they’ll likely find themselves in a position to move some veteran players.

Toronto’s biggest decision will likely be whether to keep or trade their young stars in Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. We very well may not see a move involving either of those players, making a few of the pending unrestricted free agents on the roster the most likely players to be dealt. We already looked at the possible trade compensation that Yusei Kikuchi might be able to net, so let’s now take a look at one of the hottest hitters on the team in Danny Jansen.

Jansen has developed into a quality player for the Blue Jays, with his biggest weakness being unavailability. The backstop has suffered multiple minor injuries in each of the past four seasons, with 86 games in 2023 being the most games he’s appeared in during that stretch. However, he has proven to be one of the best-hitting catchers in the league when healthy, possessing a solid walk rate and some pop from the right side. Although his defence is inferior to that of teammate Alejandro Kirk, Jansen has still managed a 7.9 fWAR since 2018, good for 10th in the Major Leagues among catchers despite fewer plate appearances than his counterparts. His 1.3 fWAR is currently ranked 2nd on the Blue Jays this season.

Jansen is a pending free agent, and with the free agent catching class looking particularly weak, the Elmhurst, Illinois native appears poised to cash in. This also means that Jansen will likely be one of the only quality catchers available at this year’s trade deadline. With a modest 2024 contract of $5.2 million, catcher-needy teams may be lining up to trade for him.

So that begs the question: Should the Blue Jays trade Danny Jansen? The answer is certainly yes. Based on Jansen being the top catching target available this winter, it seems unlikely that the Jays will be able to sign him to a long-term deal. That kind of deal may be a mistake when considering his injury history. The team is in a great position to take advantage of the dearth of catching options available and possibly get a bigger return than what they may have received in previous years.

Two teams that could be good fits for Jansen could be the Cubs and Padres, whose team catching fWAR rank 28th and 24th in the league, respectively. The thing to note with Jansen is his bat is good enough to be employed as a DH, so it may not only be catcher-needy teams that could be interested in his services.

The biggest obstacle that may get in the way of a trade is the health of the spectacled backstop. The Jays should be hoping that he stays healthy through the next few weeks so that they can pounce on a trade and hopefully receive a top prospect in return.