Brewers make surprise trade for hometown veteran catcher

The Milwaukee Brewers have completed their first "deadline deal" of the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, and it's not what anyone was expecting. According to ESPN's MLB Insider Jeff Passan, the Brewers are acquiring veteran catcher Danny Jansen from the Tampa Bay Rays. Jansen, who is currently playing in his eighth MLB season, attended Appleton West High School before being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

The trade comes as a bit of a shock, not because the Brewers won't benefit from having Jansen on their roster; they certainly will, but because catcher was not cited as a "need" of the Brewers heading into this year's trade deadline. With William Contreras and Eric Haase manning the position admirably to this point, it was expected that the Brewers would look elsewhere for an upgrade to their roster.

That said, Jansen is certainly an upgrade over Haase. He's slashing .204/.314/.389 with 11 HR in 73 games for the Rays this season. Jansen also has excellent plate discipline, as evidenced by his chase rate, which ranks in the 93rd percentile, his walk rate, which is in the 89th percentile, and a strikeout rate that has consistently been in the top half of the league up until this season (Jansen has a career-worst 26.4% strikeout rate this year), according to Baseball Savant.

As a defender, Jansen excels at blocking pitches, but when it comes to framing and throwing runners out, he ranks near the bottom of the league. The Brewers have been known to improve the defensive abilities of the catchers that they bring into the organization, so Jansen's catching metrics should see some improvement after the trade.

The team has yet to officially announce the move, but when they do, expect to see some clarification as to what Haase's future will look like. More than likely, he will be designated for assignment to make room for Jansen on the roster. Less likely, but still possible, is a brief IL stint for Contreras, who has been dealing with a finger injury all season.

Brewers acquire Danny Jansen from Tampa Bay Rays for infield prospect Jadher Areinamo

In return for Jansen, who does have a mutual option at the end of the season which will more than likely be declined, and cash considerations, the Brewers are sending infield prospect Jadher Areinamo to the Rays, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

At first glance, that may seem like an overpay on the Brewers’ end, as Areinamo is the Brewers No. 24 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. However, more context is required. Areinamo is Rule 5 Draft eligible at the end of the season, meaning the Brewers would have either needed to add him to their 40-man roster or risk him being picked up for free by another organization.

With Areinamo still in High-A, there's no way that he would have been added to the Brewers' 40-man roster this offseason, but it's likely that another team would have taken him in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. To protect him from the minor league Rule 5 Draft, the Brewers would have had to add him to their 38-man Triple-A roster, which was also highly unlikely. Rather than lose him for nothing at the end of the season, the Brewers turn him into two and a half months of an upgrade at their backup catcher position.

It's not the blockbuster that Brewers fans were hoping for, but there's still plenty of time left, and this move certainly doesn't stop Matt Arnold and company from executing another trade or two.