Last offseason's free agent catching class was very weak. Only three players received a multi-year deal, all of which checked in at two years. Mitch Garver is more of a designated hitter, while Tom Murphy and Victor Caratini are backups. There wasn't a top target for teams looking to the open market for a #1 option.
Next winter's group looks similarly light, with one exception. It's comprised mostly by players in their mid-30s who are generally better suited for backup roles. Yet unlike last winter, there's one player emerging as the clear top of the class. Danny Jansen has been a very good player for the last three years. He has taken things up another level through this season's first couple months. If he can stay healthy, he'll be well-positioned for the top free agent catching contract since Willson Contreras topped $87MM two years ago.
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274/5/13 is NOT pulling away. Not even close. Is this the worst era of catchers we’ve ever had?
An .848 OPS is pretty good
Nope, not even close. Rutschman, smith, Realmuto, Murphy, Contreras bros, Jeffers, Raleigh several more
Elias Diaz has been better, and is better.
Can Jansen be healthy for one season?
@SkenesandSlopes
He’s started wearing guards on his hands. It’s not a guarantee that he’ll he healthy for a season but the majority of his injuries were to his hands. This will help.
Does this article talk about what teams might be interested in him in free agency or if he is traded at the deadline, and what kind of contract he might get next year? Or is it just a Fangraphs-lite article?
Wait, I am the one who has to pay in order to take a deep dive into the analytics of Danny Jansen???
What are you paying now?
In 60+ games he’s been in 33 so far in 2024. Taking out his first exposure to the majors in 2018, he’s averaged playing 68 games per year.
Who’s going to pay him as a starting C when he’s not a starting C? He’s a very high quality guy to have in a 2 man catching platoon.
Why would he get paid more than someone like Contreras who plays 120+ games?
Someone will overpay him because of market scarcity. But he’s not really that outstanding and not someone who can shoulder a starting catcher’s workload.
Sorry MLBTR, but this is a bad take. Elias Diaz is hitting 30 points higher with the same amount of homers, basically the same WAR, but he is +3 DRS while Jansen is 0, and Diaz’s framing metrics so far have been way better. Poor evaluation from this article’s author.