Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to French Canadian parents, Desautels was a protégé of Crusaders coach Jack Barry during his playing days at the College of the Holy Cross. After graduating with a bachelor\'s degree in philosophy, he went directly to the major leagues, making his debut with the Detroit Tigers on June 22, 1930 at the age of 23. He served as a reserve catcher for the Detroit Tigers, playing behind Ray Hayworth and veteran Muddy Ruel. When catcher Mickey Cochrane joined the Tigers as a player-manager in 1934, Desautels was sent to the minor leagues to play for the Toledo Mud Hens. He then spent two seasons in the Pacific Coast League with the Hollywood Stars and San Diego Padres.\n', '

Desautels came back to the major leagues in 1937, playing for the Boston Red Sox as a back up to Rick Ferrell. When Ferrell was traded to the Washington Senators in June of that same year, Desautels became the starting catcher for the Red Sox. Desautels enjoyed his most productive season with Boston in 1938, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.291), home runs (2), runs batted in (48), runs (47), doubles (16), and games played (108). However, his offensive performance diminished in 1939 and, he would be traded to the Cleveland Indians for Frankie Pytlak after the 1940 season.\n', '

As a member of the Indians, Desautels played as a reserve catcher behind Rollie Hemsley. At the beginning of the 1943 season, Indians\' manager, Lou Boudreau, named Desautels as the Indians starting catcher, but by the middle of the year he was replaced by Buddy Rosar, who was hitting above .300. He entered the United States Marine Corps in February 1944 and was discharged in July 1945 at the age of 38, losing two years from his baseball career. He rejoined the Indians in August 1945 but, saw little playing time and was released in September of that year. He was hired by Connie Mack to play for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1946, where he once again played as a reserve catcher behind Buddy Rosar. Desautels retired as a player at the end of the 1946 season, at the age of 39.\n', '

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