Blue Jays Will Benefit From Jansen’s 2022

The Toronto Blue Jays look ready to benefit (in a variety of ways) from the season that Danny Jansen just had

The Toronto Blue Jays must have been sitting back and grinning ear to ear as Danny Jansen put together the best season of his career. Despite playing in just 72 games, Jansen put together the 11th best (by fWAR) season by a catcher. Obviously, any team would be thrilled for their catcher to produce a 140 wRC+, but there are a couple of other reasons that Jansen’s season will help the Blue Jays.

Before diving into those ways, it’s worth looking at just how good Jansen’s season was:

Jansen had himself a career year. He set a new personal best in home runs, RBI, OPS and wRC+ on his way to a 2.6 fWAR. He did this in just 72 games, which is even more impressive. Ever since we’d heard his name, we’ve been waiting to see if his offensive potential would match the other aspects of his game. Known to be adept at handling a pitching staff and for solid defense that earned him a Gold Glove nomination in 2019, Jansen’s bat was slower to show itself to be more than just potential. Now, here we are in October looking back on what was a breakthrough season for the player and one that will end up helping his team.

GM, Ross Atkins will be looking for pieces to take his team further in the postseason and may have to part with some big names to get it. The consensus among beat writers is that Atkins may be more active in the trade market than the free agent route, opting to try and keep his team away from that luxury tax. The type of talent Toronto will should target will cost some big pieces and Jansen could be one of them.

The topic of Toronto trading from the catching position has been done to death. It’s the most obvious area of strength for the Blue Jays. With Jansen and Alejandro Kirk forming a two headed monster behind the plate and Gabriel Moreno knocking on the door, something has to give. In this specific situation, the result could go many different ways, depending on the many phone calls Atkins participates in. But, you can bet trading a catcher will be explored and Jansen’s season may have made that easier.

If Jansen hadn’t had the season he had, his trade value may not have been as high, since he was injured for a good chunk of time, and Toronto would likely have to keep him and look to accomplish a trade with Kirk or Moreno, if a catcher is the cost of doing business. Now, Toronto can keep him if they wish, or they can use him in trade talks. This is the benefit of Jansen turning his offense around. The Blue Jays would be more than happy to have Jansen and his 2022 bat back for a championship run in 2023.

There is no way to definitively say how much trade value a player has, even if Baseball Trade Values has come the closest to doing so. Some GM’s will want Jansen’s defense and will want him working with their pitchers. Others may prefer the offensive certainty (is there such a thing?) of Kirk and be willing to gamble on his ability to stick behind the plate. But, if potential trade partners do prefer Kirk instead, Toronto hangs on to one of the better catchers in baseball to help mentor Moreno. If a trade costs Moreno, Toronto keeps its catching monster in place for another couple seasons. Sure, Moreno is likely the future of the position, but Toronto is very clearly in ‘win now’ mode, so it may cost the youngster for a chance to win a championship.

It is impossible to say just how offseason conversations will go, but you can bet that the Blue Jays will be getting asked about their catchers just as they will be asking about other teams and their pitching. The season that Jansen put together will only serve to help them. If he has increased his trade value, they win. If he stays and continues his production, they win.