Connor Wong is the only catcher on the Boston Red Sox's 40-man roster, and a potential reunion with a 2024 trade deadline acquisition has been officially ruled out as a backup option.
Longtime Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays and will remain in the American League East, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times was the first to report Jansen and the Rays were nearing a deal.
The backstop signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with Tampa Bay. Murray reports he fielded some multi-year offers but decided to bet on himself after a lackluster year in both Toronto and Boston.
The Red Sox traded for Jansen ahead of the 2024 trade deadline to remove some of Wong's workload after the team's former backup catcher, Reese McGuire, was optioned to Triple-A Worcester. Jansen represented a much-needed righty bat in the Sox's heavily left-handed lineup, but his time in Boston wasn't marked by productive offense.
Former Red Sox backup catcher and longtime Blue Jay Danny Jansen signs with the Rays in free agency
Free-agent catcher Danny Jansen and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a one-year, $8.5 million contract, pending physical, according to sources familiar with the deal.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 6, 2024
Jansen had multi-year offers, but chose to bet on himself coming off a down season, and goes to a place…
Jansen slashed .188/.323/.300 with a .623 OPS over 30 appearances for Boston, a decent dropoff from his .212/.303/.369 slash line over 62 games with the Jays to begin the season. The 29-year-old ranks in or near the lower quartile of the league in caught stealing and blocks above average, as well as framing, but he's an elite blocker with a league-best 14 blocks above average.
The Red Sox signed former Mariners catcher Seby Zavala to a minor league deal on Nov. 18, and he could be a temporary backup catching option until top prospect Kyle Teel is ready to debut. The catching market is thin this offseason, though, and the best options are being signed quickly. If the Sox hope to add another catcher to their roster to assist Wong in the early going, they'll need to move fast.