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Danny Jansen made MLB history on Monday in a particularly bizarre way. In the first game of a doubleheader between the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Jansen became the first player in MLB history to play for both teams in the same game.
That's because the afternoon AL East showdown is the continuation of a suspended game from June 26 — before the Blue Jays traded Jansen to the Red Sox. Jansen played the first inning-plus for Toronto in June before rain halted play. Though he took his place at catcher that day, he had not yet come to the plate.
He took his first at bat of the game on Monday wearing a Boston uniform as Brian Serven, the in-game sub who replaced Jansen, put down the signs for pitcher Ryan Burr. Jansen lined out to first base in his first plate appearance.
“It’s a cool thing to be part of something that lives on and is just a rarity,” Jansen told Jayson Stark of The Athletic last week. “I try to be in the moment as much as possible. But one day, if this happens … it’s going to be a cool thing to look back on.”
With the Red Sox fighting for a playoff spot, manager Alex Cora found some levity in the situation and made sure it would materialize.
“Yeah he’s catching,” Cora told reporters before the game. “Let’s make history.”
Danny Jansen was an unexpected Red Sox trade deadline addition
The Red Sox entered the 2024 MLB trade deadline season in the market for another right-handed bat. Few, however, expected them to get that bat from an incoming catcher.
Boston right-handed backstop Connor Wong is having the best offensive season of his short MLB career, batting .286 with a 110 OPS+ headed into play on Monday. His batting average is 51 points higher than what he hit as a rookie in 2023 (.235). He has also already equaled his walk total from last season in 26 fewer games, and has 11 home runs compared to the nine he hit last year.
Jansen, meanwhile is enduring a down year offensively. Between Toronto and Boston, he has compiled a .215 average and 92 OPS+. He's been slightly better since the trade, hitting .231 with a 98 OPS+ as a member of the Red Sox, but the team's chief baseball officer didn't want to get bogged down in the numbers.
“Danny gives us a right-handed bat that should play very well at Fenway,” Craig Breslow told MLB.com's Ian Browne when the trade happened. “He hits the ball really hard and in the air, which is especially advantageous in our ballpark. We liked our catching situation coming into the Deadline but saw an opportunity to strengthen that group.”
The trade for Jansen adds some congestion to the Boston lineup. Since the trade, Cora has used them both at catcher while plugging Wong in at DH and first base to get them in the lineup together.
The Red Sox entered the day at 67-62, 4.5 back in the American League Wild Card race.
