Cubs Have Reportedly Expressed Interest in Blue Jays Catcher Danny Jansen

The first thing we should acknowledge about this particular rumor is that it comes with even more caveats than usual, and that’s saying something given how close we are to the trade deadline. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Cubs have “expressed interest” in Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen. This is a topic we covered back in June when more than one report had the Cubs exploring the catching market.

As such, Nightengale’s blurb might simply be a matter of recycling information. The Blue Jays do look like they’re going to be sellers now that they’ve fallen way behind in both the division and the Wild Card race, so trading Jansen rather than letting him reach free agency in Toronto makes a lot of sense. What doesn’t make as much sense, however, is the Cubs putting much effort into acquiring a rental given their current situation.

Nightengale’s draft-centered column was published at 5:13am CT on Sunday, so it’s safe to say most or all of the content was ready to go well before that. Perhaps even before the Cubs were swept in Saturday’s doubleheader to fall back into last place in the NL Central and 4.5 games out of the NL Wild Card. It’s also worth noting that, while one swing doesn’t change a season, Miguel Amaya homered Sunday night with simpler mechanics that include a reduced leg kick.

Jansen could be seen as a major offensive upgrade, but that’s largely a matter of comparing him to Cubs catchers who have massively underperformed so far. He has cooled quite a bit after a hot start, however, and has actually been worse than Amaya over the last month. After posting a 135 wRC+ with an .836 OPS over his first 138 plate appearances, Jansen is slashing .121/.261/.207 with a 46 wRC+ in his last 69 PAs. That’s bad.

The only way I could see a Jansen deal making sense is if it was part of moving Cody Bellinger and his future obligations, but that doesn’t seem like something Toronto would be willing to do. A much sexier proposition would see the Cubs take a huge swing on a multi-player acquisition that includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which seems highly unlikely. Probably a nothing-burger here in the end.