Red Sox Predicted To Target Former Two-Time All-Star To Replace Danny Jansen

Does Boston need a stopgap option?

Sep 12, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen (28) catches a pitch against the New York Yankees during the fourth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Not that they were expecting him back, but the Boston Red Sox did lose their first player to free agency for the 2025 season on Friday.

Catcher Danny Jansen, who Boston acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline, had an underwhelming Red Sox tenure, only playing in 30 games and batting just .188. On Friday, he took his talents to the Tampa Bay Rays, his third American League East team in the last five months.

Jansen was one of the more proven options in a shallow pool of free-agent catchers, and the Red Sox must now decide whether or not to dip into that pool.

Connor Wong is the incumbent starting catcher, but everyone in Boston is just waiting for top prospect Kyle Teel to take over the job someday soon. If Teel isn't ready for that by Opening Day, however, it would make sense to add a veteran backup for the early part of the season.

Yasmani Grandal, a former two-time All-Star approaching the twilight of his career, is an interesting candidate to be that backup. Gio Rivera of NESN recently named Grandal as one of the options he expected the Red Sox to explore to fill the role Jansen left vacant.

"The market for Grandal is expected to generate interest from multiple clubs, especially after the 36-year-old ended 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirates by slashing .311/.440/.554 with five home runs over the final two months of the season," Rivera said.

"While Grandal is three seasons removed from his impressive 23-home run campaign with the White Sox and five years removed from his last All-Star nod with the Milwaukee Brewers, he’s a 13-year veteran with more than enough innings under his belt."

Grandal, 36, has generally had a rough go of things since 2021. He had an OPS+ of 64 in 2022 and 79 in 2023, but quietly climbed to 95 in 2024, also putting up positive WAR for the first time in three years. He's not a worldbeater, but perhaps he can still be useful in a backup role.

At this point, everything centers around Teel's readiness. If Alex Cora and the front office believe he's ready to take the starting job by Opening Day, the job is rightfully his. But if not, it doesn't make sense to have him catching a game or two per week in the majors instead of getting full-time reps in the minors.

If the latter is the case (recall, Teel only played 28 games at Triple-A), then adding someone like Grandal makes the most sense. He'd have to be let go once Teel was actually ready, but that's just the business these players sign up for.

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