The Red Sox could trade Kenley Jansen
For weeks, it's been reported that the Red Sox are in talks with teams about Kenley Jansen. Despite his quality performances from last season, which earned him an All-Star nod, the desire to trade the closer makes sense.
Jansen's value would be high coming off a good performance in Boston. The main struggle for the font office would be finding a team to take on the $16 million he's owed for the upcoming season, and money has been tight for many teams this winter, the Red Sox included. Finding a suitor for Jansen may take more work than the front office has the time to put in before spring training.
.@JonHeyman on several teams talking to the Red Sox about Kenley Jansen right now.
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) February 6, 2024
Also mentions that Jarren Duran has been coming up in trade talks.
Notes that he hasn’t heard anything on Masataka Yoshida. pic.twitter.com/LDX33zIknn
If the Red Sox could find a team that had a right-handed outfielder to swap for Jansen, that would be the base-case scenario. If they can't, trading him just to free up a roster spot and save the cash he was owed for another player would be almost as favorable, assuming the money is spent wisely.
If Boston ends up keeping Jansen, it wouldn't be the worst thing, but a closer doesn't feel like the most necessary position to fill on a roster that's very much incomplete.