The Cubs have expre sed interest in Blue Jays catcher , according to . Its unclear how serious discu sions between the sides have become at this point. It would hardly be a surprise to see Toronto part ways with Jansen prior to the deadline on July 30. The club has experienced a freefall in the standings that has seen the club drop to just 43-52, 14 games out of the AL East and 9.5 games out of a playoff spot. That ma sive deficit in the standings has left the clubs playoff odds ( ) at just 1.6%. Given those dismal odds, its only natural that the club is expre sing openne s to moving on from rental players this summer. Jansen, 29, is one of the clubs more intriguing rental players. Bob Lanier Jersey Initially drafted in the 16th round back in 2013 by the Blue Jays, the Wisconsin native made his big league debut with Toronto back in 2018 and generally struggled at the plate early in his career. He carried a lackluster .208/.297/.370 slash line (79 wRC+) into the 2021 season. Fortunately, in 2021 Toronto began to lean le s heavily on Jansen behind the plate due to the arrival of youngster . From 2021-23, Jansen enjoyed a resurgence on offense while being counted on for an average of just 76 games a year. In 754 trips to the plate acro s those three seasons, he saw his wRC+ jump to 121 as he slashed a solid .237/.317/.487 while clubbing 43 home runs. Early in the 2024 campaign, Jansen appeared to be on track for the best season of his career as he was slashing an incredible .287/.371/.535 through the end of May. He struck out just 15.5% of the time in those 116 trips to the plate while walking at a 12.1% clip and crushing five homers. Paired with generally strong defensive grades behind the plate throughout his career, that figured to make him an extremely attractive free agent this winter, as at the time. Things have come off the rails a bit for Jansen since then, however. In 91 trips to the plate since the start of June, Jansen has posted a lackluster .141/.253/.218 acro s 26 games. An eye-popping .164 BABIP thats all but certain to enjoy some positive regre sion indicates that theres some reason for optimism when looking at Jansens numbers during this recent slump, as does the fact that Jansens plate discipline numbers (18.9% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate) remain impre sive. Even so, its hard to imagine the Jays getting anywhere close to the trade return they might have had Jansen maintained his early season production now that hes hitting a roughly league average .223/.319/.397 (103 wRC+) for the season. Even so, its not hard to see why the Cubs would be interested in Jansens services. The club has struggled somewhat on offense this year with a collective wRC+ of 102 that ranks 16th in the majors this year, even in spite of excellent seasons from corner bats , , and . The most obvious culprit for those struggles at the dish in Chicago is the players theyre using behind it, as Cubs catchers have slashed a pathetic .180/.227/.264 this year. That translates to a wRC+ of 39 that ranks 29th in the majors ahead of only the lowly Marlins. Its po sible the Cubs would be willing to stomach that brutal offense production if they were getting elite defense behind the plate, but youngster has been worth -2 runs according to , and veteran was performing even worse before being replaced by after he was released by the Mets last month. Nido has looked good behind the plate but has hit a ghastly .135/.154/.189 in 13 games with the Cubs. He doesnt have much of a track record to lean on, either, as a seven-game stint in 2020 is the only time in his career hes posted a wRC+ higher than 86. Those woes behind the plate make the Cubs an obvious fit for Jansens services, although its fair to wonder if Chicago will be in position to buy by the time the deadline rolls around. After all, the team is currently five games below .500 (46-51) and in dead last in the NL Central. Theyre only 4.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, but Fangraphs gives them playoff odds of just 8.7%. While thats substantially higher than the aforementioned odds Toronto has, it still suggests a postseason berth is a remote po sibility for Chicago, and it would hardly be a surprise to see them pivot towards selling if they struggle coming out of the All Star break. Should the Cubs wind up buying, Jansen isnt the only Blue Jays hitter the club has reported interest in. Last month, it was that Chicago was having internal discu sions about the po sibility of pursuing star first baseman if the Blue Jays decided to sell. Of course, that reporting came on the heels of GM Ro s Atkins very plainly saying that dealing Guerrero, who is controllable through the end of the 2025 campaign, for the team to do. While its at least theoretically po sible the clubs front office changes its stance before the deadline, that po sibility seems remote at best as things stand. Robin Lopez Jersey