According to Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae on “X”), Danny Jansen will miss 2 weeks with a broken bone in the wrist area of his throwing hand. With Opening Day quickly approaching on March 28th, Alejandro Kirk will likely start the first couple games at the catching spot. However, the C2 spot is currently wide open for certain players. Brian Serven and Payton Henry will now compete for the open C2 slot for game 1 of the MLB season at Tropicana Field.
Serven’s Strong Spring Makes Him Probable C2 for Opening Day
While both Brian Serven and Payton Henry have had solid Spring Trainings, the Blue Jays would be wise to choose Serven due to his MLB experience and the increased quality of pitching that he’s faced this spring. For example, Serven crushed a 2-run home run off of former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes in a contest against the Baltimore Orioles. To add onto this, the young catcher roped a 108 MPH, 437 FT dinger to left-centre field off Bailey Ober, a pitcher with a 3.43 ERA for Minnesota in 2023. Serven’s 1.389 OPS leads the Blue Jays this spring among players with at least 15 ABs.
Payton Henry – Likely C3
Catcher Payton Henry has also had an OPS that’s exceeded 1.000, along with a HR and 3 RBIs. Henry hasn’t worked a walk in his 12 ABs, which is problematic given that Serven’s already took two free passes. Given that Henry only has 20 career MLB games to 73 for Serven, it’s unlikely that he gets the C2 position over Brian Serven. The 27-year-old catcher should serve as a depth option in MiLB for the 2024 campaign.
Will Toronto Sign DJ Long-Term?
Danny Jansen has always had injury issues, which is clear due to the fact that Jansen has only played over 100 games once in his 5 full seasons (excluding shortened 2020 season). While this is expected to be a short-term injury, there is still a possibility that his condition worsens throughout the season. Jansen’s been a solid offensive catcher, as he’s had a wRC+ over 100 in 4 of his 6 seasons. He’s also been above average in both blocking (61st percentile in 2023) and framing (62nd percentile in 2023).
Jansen is facing a contract year in 2024, given that he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason. While he’s been a heavy contributor both defensively and offensively, his lack of durability is a concern and would likely play a part in whether Toronto’s front office wants to extend him long-term.
Danny Jansen – A Huge Absence for Opening Day
With Jansen’s injury, it’s likely that he misses the first few games against the Tampa Bay Rays. With the nightmares that have occurred for Toronto against the Rays in the last few years, Jansen’s absence would be noticeable. The catcher had a .906 OPS in 2023 and a solid .740 OPS in 2022 against the Tampa Bay Rays. If C Brian Serven can continue his elite Spring Training against MLB talent, perhaps he can fill the void of Danny Jansen in the first few contests of the season.