Red Sox rumors: 3 players who won’t be on the roster by the trade deadline

Red Sox rumors: Kenley Jansen will likely be traded by the trade deadline

There was a time when Kenley Jansen was one of the most feared closers in all of baseball. Those times are only a few years in the past, yet many seem to look at Jansen as a shell of his former self. That couldn’t be further from the truth, as he’s in the midst of a pretty good season in the Red Sox bullpen.

Jansen is under contract for the rest of this season and 2024, albeit he is being paid a hefty salary of $16 million in each of those two seasons. Even still, there should be plenty of interested parties looking to upgrade the bullpen.

The Red Sox could look to move him in order to kickstart a quick retooling of their team by adding prospects and dropping his big contract off the books. They would have to opt to find a new closer in the future when they’re ready to contend again.

One thing is for certain though. Nobody is going to contend in the AL East with a half-decent team. Winning 82-90 games won’t be winning any division titles in the near future. That division is loaded with juggernauts and the Red Sox will have to rebuild and retool accordingly. Unfortunately, that means they would need to part ways with Kenley Jansen before the trade deadline.