Closer Kenley Jansen is about to enter the second season of his two-year, $32 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. How much longer will he be pitching for the club, though?
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It's been a weird offseason for the Red Sox. In November, there was promise of a "full throttle" winter with new baseball chief Craig Breslow leading the way. However, the biggest offseason acquisition they've made is signing starting pitcher Lucas Giolito to a two-year, $38.5 million contract. And now, it sounds like Boston is gauging interest from other teams about some of the most attractive (and expensive) players on their 2024 roster.
That includes Jansen. The veteran earned his fourth career All-Star selection in 2023 and finished with a 3.63 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 52 strikeouts and 29 saves in 44.2 innings pitched. He's scheduled to earn $16 million in 2024 before going back on the free-agent market as a 37-year-old.
During a February 6 live stream for Bleacher Report, the New York Post's Jon Heyman discussed Jansen's current status. "The Red Sox are talking to teams about Kenley Jansen and there are several teams involved right now," he said.
Red Sox gauging the market for their key players? 😳
(w/ @JonHeyman) pic.twitter.com/rYwrJv5Rrb
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) February 6, 2024
One of the teams rumored to have an interest in acquiring Jansen is the Los Angeles Dodgers — the organization he spent the first 12 years of his MLB career with. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported on January 28 that the Dodgers wanted to add a "high-leverage" reliever to the bullpen. He specifically mentioned Jansen and free agent Ryan Brasier as options.
Los Angeles just re-signed Brasier to a two-year, $9 million deal. So, wanting to swing a trade for Jansen may not be on top of the priority list any longer. But it's the Dodgers — they've committed $1 billion to player talent this winter, so what's another $16 million, right?
As for the Red Sox, it's never a bad idea to gauge demand for a player to see what kind of return he could bring in a deal. But trading Jansen may be a sign of Boston throwing in the white flag for 2024 if they make it happen. They've finished in last place in the AL East three times in the past four years. The division has gotten even tougher with the New York Yankees landing outfielder Juan Soto and the Baltimore Orioles trading for starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, so climbing out of the basement won't be an easy task this year.
Someone needs to check with organizational leadership to get a sense of what "full throttle" means to them.
