A common refrain around baseball is that you can tune in daily and still see something you've never seen before. Anyone watching the resumption of a suspended game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays on Monday will know that to be true.
Red Sox catcher Danny Jansen will sub in for the Red Sox — despite originally starting the game for the Blue Jays.
Suspended games have created some utterly bizarre scenarios in the past, including in 2018 when Juan Soto hit a home run in a game that started five days before his MLB debut. What Jansen is doing is unprecedented, as he's the first player in MLB history to play for two teams in the same game.
A pregame photo captured the absurdity of it, showing Jansen walking on the field in Red Sox gear as the scoreboard showed him in a Blue Jays hat facing Kutter Crawford.
The duality of man pic.twitter.com/HPZd36SsCR
— MLB (@MLB) August 26, 2024
Here's the story behind the odd scenario Jansen finds himself in.
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How can Danny Jansen play for both MLB teams in one game?
Jansen started at catcher for the Blue Jays at Fenway Park on June 26, but the game was suspended in the second inning due to rain. It was the last game of the series and the Blue Jays had to travel back to Toronto for a game that Thursday, so the decision was made to reschedule the rest of the game for Aug. 26 when the two teams were set to start another series in Boston.
Plenty can change in two months, especially when the trade deadline is sandwiched right in the middle of it. With the Blue Jays falling out of postseason contention, they dealt Jansen, a pending free agent, to the Red Sox on July 27. Boston made Jansen its No. 2 catcher behind Connor Wong.
This strange occurrence is happening because Reese McGuire, not Wong, started at catcher for the Red Sox on June 26. McGuire was designated for assignment when Jansen was acquired, so either Jansen or Wong had to step in. Red Sox manager Alex Cora embraced history.
"Yeah, he's catching. Let's make history," Cora told reporters ahead of Monday.
As if the situation wasn't strange enough, the hitter at the plate when the game was suspended was none other than Jansen. That means Jansen will be behind the plate for an at-bat he started with the bat in his hand, with the Blue Jays pinch-hitting for him.
Jansen will catch the completion of the suspended game.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 26, 2024
Here's the fun part: He will enter the game with himself at the plate. So the Jays will pinch hit for Jansen as Jansen is behind the plate.
Jansen will then become the 1st MLB player to play for both teams in the same game
Toronto had to overhaul its lineup for the suspended game, as four of the players in the June 26 were traded and another, Bo Bichette, is on the IL. Brian Serven is stepping in at catcher for Jansen.
Jansen called the oddity "extremely rare and cool," adding that he's surprised he's the first to do it because of how old the sport is.
An authenticator is expected to be at Fenway Park to take some memorabilia from Jansen to the Hall of Fame to commemorate the historic moment.
Here's a look back at the trade that sent Jansen to Boston and made Monday's feat possible.
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Danny Jansen trade to Red Sox
The Red Sox acquired Jansen from the Blue Jays on July 27, in exchange for minor-leaguers Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino and Gilberto Batista.
While the Blue Jays had fallen out of contention by that point, the Red Sox were very much in the AL wild card race and wanted to upgrade at backup catcher with McGuire carrying just a .575 OPS on the year. Jansen struggled to start the season in Toronto, but he hit 17 home runs in 86 games last season and had a career .743 OPS before 2024.
Jansen has been fine in his role to this point, batting .231 with three home runs and a .718 OPS over 14 games at a position that typically doesn't provide much offense, but Monday's feat will likely be his signature moment in Boston regardless of how the rest of the year plays out.
