Red Sox Swing Rare Intra-Division Trade For Right-Handed Hitter, Upgrade Key Position

Boston still could use more firepower

Scott Neville | Jul 27, 2024

Mar 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view of Fenway Park before a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

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The Boston Red Sox are starting to get active in the trade market with moves on back-to-back days from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow in his first year at the helm of baseball operations.

Just a day after making a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to bring back left-hander James Paxton, Breslow has dipped into the American League East market to bring in a right-handed bat at a key position.

"The Red Sox today acquired catcher Danny Jansen from the Toronto Blue Jays, in exchange for minor league infielders Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino, and minor league right-handed pitcher Gilberto Batista," the team announced.

"To make room for Jansen on the 40-Man Roster, the Red Sox designated right-handed pitcher Alex Speas for assignment."

Jansen is hitting .212 with 19 extra-base hits including six home runs, 18 RBIs and a .671 OPS (90 OPS+) in 61 games. The right-handed backstop is a career .222 hitter with a .733 OPS (100 OPS+) across seven seasons.

Breslow has been open regarding his need to upgrade the right-handed hitting group but a catcher to supplant Reese McGuire was not high on the priority list.

For what it's worth, it would be quite surprising if Breslow deemed Jansen the upgrade to solve their lack of right-handed hitting -- this appears to be more of an opportunity to bolster the catcher position. In fact, like most of the roster, Jansen is better over the course of his career against righties than lefties.

While the trade package feels heavy for a rental backup catcher, this move should not be seen as much more than an opportunity to get a little better.

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Published Jul 27, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu