The Red Sox were hard at work Saturday well before they kicked off their thrilling matchup with the Yankees.
Craig Breslow and company finalized a trade for Danny Jansen roughly 10 minutes before first pitch at Fenway Park. Boston sent a pair of infield prospects and a minor-league pitcher to Toronto in exchange for the veteran catcher, who played the first six-plus seasons of his MLB career with the Blue Jays.
Jansen can hold his own behind the dish, but the Red Sox primarily brought the 29-year-old in for his bat. For manager Alex Cora, there’s one aspect of Jansen’s offensive game that really jumps out.
“We like the swing,” Cora told reporters, per The Boston Globe. “The fact that he hits the ball hard to the pull side is good. We’ll see where we’re at.”
Story continues below advertisement
Breslow also is high on Jansen’s chances of helping the Boston offense. Not only does the backstop hit the ball hard, but he has a tendency to put it in the air, which should bode well for Jansen at Fenway Park.
The former Blue Jay figures to draw into the Red Sox lineup at some point in the coming week. So to will fellow trade acquisition James Paxton, who’s slated to start for Boston on Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park.
