Guardians Predicted To Land Polarizing Catcher

The Cleveland Guardians are being predicted to land this polarizing former Boston Red Sox catcher in free agency.

Aug 19, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen (28) runs to first base on a single during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The catcher position was certainly an interesting one for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024.

Heading into the season, the Guardians seemed set with Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges at the position, but Naylor was a massive disappointment, and Hedges' bat was less than non-existent (which didn't come as a surprise).

So, could Cleveland actually explore making an upgrade at backstop in MLB free agency?

Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors thinks so, as he has predicted the Guardians to land catcher Danny Jansen. The staff in general is predicting Jansen to land a two-year, $20 million deal.

The question is, would Jansen really make Cleveland better?

The 29-year-old split the 2024 campaign between the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, slashing .205/.309/.349 with nine home runs and 24 RBI over 324 plate appearances. He also logged a miserable minus-11 DRS behind the plate.

For comparison's sake, Naylor slashed a similar .201/.264/.350 with 13 homers and 39 RBI across 389 trips to the dish. However, his DRS was the exact opposite of Jansen's: plus-11.

Now, to be fair, Jansen has historically been a solid hitter for a catcher. He posted OPSes of .772, .855 and .786, respectively, between 2021 and 2023. So maybe 2024 was just an off year for him.

But giving $10 million annually over two years to a catcher who may or may not be an upgrade over Naylor just seems like a waste of money for a Guardians squad that almost certainly won't be blowing a whole lot of cash this winter to begin with.