Free agent catcher Danny Jansen and the Rangers have agreed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal, a source told MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. In addition, Texas is also in agreement on one-year contracts with relievers Alexis Díaz, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, and Tyler Alexander, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The club has not confirmed the news.
He hit 14 homers last season, which he split between the Rays and the Brewers, and he has bopped double-digit dingers in four of the past five non-shortened seasons. The only outlier in that group is 2024, when Jansen had nine homers while playing for the two teams he played for in that link above — the Blue Jays and Red Sox. He broke into the Majors with Toronto in 2018.
It’s no secret what Jansen is trying to do when he’s at the plate: pull the ball in the air whenever possible. Jansen’s 71.7% airball rate tied for third in MLB among all players with at least 100 batted balls, trailing only the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh and the Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson. And he pulled those airballs 32.7% of the time, the fifth-highest rate among players with at least 100 batted balls.
Although Jansen’s pitch- framing and ability to throw runners out have rarely graded out well, he is adept at keeping balls in front of him. He recorded 14 blocks above average in 2025, second best in the big leagues. His 72 blocks above average since the start of 2019 are unsurpassed.
While the 30-year-old has often shared time behind the dish, he hasn’t cleared the 100-games-played mark since 2019 (107 games), in part because he has made seven trips to the injured list since the start of 2021. However, Jansen was able to avoid the IL last season and appeared in 98 games between Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. He batted .215 with a .720 OPS.
