Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Danny Jansen

The 2025 season acted as a “get right” one for free agent catcher Danny Jansen.

After bottoming out with the Boston Red Sox in 2024, the veteran backstop signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. After 73 games with the team, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for the stretch run.

The 30-year-old is caught between being too good to back up, not quite impactful enough to start. There’s a lot to love about the guy, as he’s one of the game’s best pull-hitters regardless of volume.

Last season, he ranked fifth in Pull Air rate among batters with at least 200 plate appearances.

He’s also one of the best blockers in MLB, trailing only former teammate Alejandro Kirk in blocks above average with 14.

He’s definitely not perfect, though. Despite his pull power, he’s got just a .415 slugging percentage with a .196 isolated power. It may be well above average for a catcher since he debuted, but it nets him just a 100 wRC+ in 2,045 career plate appearances.

Free Agent Profile: Danny Jansen

• Age in 2026: 31

• 2025 Stats: 98 G, .215/.321/.399, 14 HR, 36 RBI, 103 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR

• 2025 Salary: $8.5 million

• Received Qualifying Offer: No

Contract Projection

• Contract Length Expectation: One year

• Expected AAV: $4-8 million

While most contenders have an established everyday catcher, there’s real value to having someone like Jansen in a backup role. Even though he’s not quite an everyday guy, he’s more than worth the 300 plate appearances he commands.

As a high-end backup catcher, Jansen’s market should be pretty busy. Now, that doesn’t mean he’s going to land with a contender this winter, similar to 2025, but he’s good enough to find himself on one come summertime — as he’s done the past two seasons.

That said, we’ve seen the duality of man through Jansen’s deadline trades: 81 wRC+ in 31 games for Boston in 2024, 119 across 25 games for Milwaukee in 2025.

Free Agent Landing Spots for Danny Jansen

Tampa Bay Rays

Jansen didn’t set the world on fire with the Rays, but he was good enough to land them an infield prospect at the deadline.

Across 73 games, the veteran slashed .204/.314/.389 with 11 home runs and a 98 wRC+. Nothing spectacular, but his 12.7% walk rate was top 30 in the majors with a minimum of 150 plate appearances.

While the Rays followed up their trade of Jansen for a deal to acquire Nick Fortes from Miami, their backup is Hunter Feduccia at the moment. The former Dodgers prospect was traded to Tampa for two prospects and catcher Ben Rortvedt, but didn’t establish himself as a viable No. 2 catcher.

Adding Jansen gives the Rays organization, and their pitching staff, a familiar face and sizeable upgrade at C2. As a team, they ranked 28th in fWAR and wRC+ from their catchers. The four non-Jansen catchers combined for a 49 wRC+ and -0.6 fWAR in 353 plate appearances.

Washington Nationals

The 2026 season is the fifth full season of Keibert Ruiz in D.C., but he’s regressed every single year of his career.

In 2025, he had a very good April, slashing .301/.351/.398 with a 112 wRC+ through his first 111 plate appearances. However, his final 156 yielded a 32 wRC+ before a concussion ended his season in July. Drew Millas gave them 18 solid games to lead the position group in fWAR (0.9), but adding an established veteran like Jansen may do the organization some good.

It’s hard to get a gauge on how Washington feels about Ruiz, a player headlining the return for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner in 2021. He’s only 27, so perhaps they want to continue to develop him.

There’s no guarantee Jansen’s signing in Washington would be as the primary, but it certainly presents as one of his best chances.

Houston Astros

Even though Fenway Park didn’t work for Jansen, ballparks suited for righty pull hitters should favor him.

Daikin Park in Houston yearns for players like him, as exhibited by infielder Isaac Parades’ last season. Jansen hit 14 homers in 2025, with Houston affording him an expected total of 21, per Statcast.

With the Astros re-acquiring Carlos Correa last deadline, the infield gets a little clunky; not many avenues short of injury to get both Diaz and Jansen into the lineup.

However, with the Astros’ most recent backup, Victor Caratini, a free agent, there’s an opening for the soon-to-be 31-year-old to step in and thrive.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The last time the Pirates got above-average offense from their catchers as a unit was 2018 with Elias Diaz and Francisco Cervelli.

While Joey Bart’s played well, and Henry Davis saw marked improvement defensively, the Pirates still got suboptimal production from the catching position overall.

The organization is optimistic about its willingness to spend this offseason, which is better for the game if nothing else. Last year under Don Kelly, the Pirates played at a near-.500 pace and have one of the more intriguing rotations in baseball behind the 2025 NL Cy Young winner in Paul Skenes.

The problem they faced last year, and years prior, is that they don’t score runs. Not that Jansen is some massive run producer, but he’s a massive boost from Davis.

While it’s hard to envision the Pirates bailing on the former No. 1 pick, he’s not been a good enough catcher to justify the lack of offense.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins are quietly a very exciting team, but their catching room needs a facelift.

After trading Fortes to the Rays, Miami deployed a primary catching tandem of Liam Hicks and Agustin Ramirez. The former did a very solid job, posting a 98 wRC+ with average blocking, while the latter proved to be more of a designated hitter.

For as fun as the Marlins are, they need more adults in the room who have been there, done that. Jansen is hardly a battle-tested veteran — just four playoff games — but he’s entering his ninth year in the league. That institutional knowledge, especially for a very young roster, is invaluable.

Not to mention his production would be a nice addition.