Danny Jansen Trade: Scouting Reports On Every Red Sox, Blue Jays Player

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The Red Sox took another step in quieting the will-they-or-won’t they deadline discourse on Saturday when they swung a trade with the division rival Blue Jays for C Danny Jansen. Jansen hasn’t put up stellar offensive numbers in 2024, but is coming off a year in which he set career-best marks in homes (17), RBIs (53) and doubles (15) and should give Boston another valuable veteran presence behind the plate.

Return on the deal for Toronto included a trio of minor leaguers: 3B/SS Cutter Coffey, SS Eddinson Paulino and RHP Gilberto Bautista. Boston also designated RHP Alex Speas for assignment to make room for Jansen on its 40-man roster. Paulino, a 22-year-old native of the Dominican Republic who signed with the Red Sox in 2018, has ranked in the organization’s Top 30 for several years now, coming in at No. 18 in this year’s midseason update.

Paulino is slashing .263/.349/.740 with three home runs and 10 stolen bases in Double-A at the time of the trade, while Coffey has 14 homers in 61 games at High-A. Bautista, 19, has a 3.67 ERA in 14 career starts between the Dominican Summer League and Florida Complex League.

RED SOX RECEIVE

Danny Jansen, C
Age: 29

Jansen is a formidable power threat who has notched double-digit homers in each of his last four full seasons (excluding the shortened 2020 season). He is one of the better offensive backstops in baseball at his best. But Jansen hasn’t been close to his best recently. The righthanded hitter has homered just once since May 21 and is slashing .147/.253/.202 with 33 strikeouts in those 39 games. Still, Jansen has a good understanding of the strike zone and rarely chases. His power is predominantly geared toward left field, which bodes well at Fenway Park if the Red Sox can get him back on track. Jansen has a strong defensive reputation and now joins C Connor Wong, who is in the midst of the best year of his career, as well as Reese McGuire if Boston opts to carry three catchers. Jansen is a free agent after the season. 

BLUE JAYS RECEIVE

Eddinson Paulino, INF
Age: 22

Paulino signed for $200,000 in 2018 and hit a career-best 13 homers with an .827 OPS with Low-A Salem in 2022. He hasn’t hit for quite as much impact since, but was a steady contributor on a loaded Double-A Portland team so far this year before he was placed on the IL in mid-July. Paulino is back to hitting more balls in the air this year after seeing his groundball rate spike in 2023, although he posts just average exit velocities. Paulino has a good mix of contact skills and feel for the strike zone. He’s also a versatile defender with experience at multiple positions on the dirt, although he’s better suited for second or third base, and has even dabbled in a bit of outfield in the past. Paulino ranked No. 18 in the Red Sox midseason Top 30.

Cutter Coffey, 3B
Age: 20

The Red Sox drafted Coffey out of high school No. 41 overall in 2022 and signed him to a $1.85 million bonus. He made headlines this season by hitting seven homers in six consecutive games after previously hitting just six homers total as a professional. Coffey has cooled off some in July, hitting just .191 with 20 strikeouts in 17 games, and has long faced questions about whether his hit tool will allow him to access his above-average raw power consistently in games, although he does make solid swing decisions. Coffey has split time between third base and shortstop defensively. He’s athletic enough to handle short, but may be better suited for third given his arm strength and fringy speed. 

Gilberto Batista, RHP
Age: 19

Batista struck out 54 batters to just eight walks over 40.2 Dominican Summer League innings last year, but has struggled more with his command in 2024 in his first foray into the Florida Complex League. His low-90s four-seam fastball has scraped 95 mph this year, but he has thrown it for strikes less than 60% of the time so far. He also mixes in an upper-80s cutter, a mid-80s changeup with tumble and fade and a mid-80s vertically-breaking slider.