Craig Breslow pushes back on once-certain Red Sox trade candidate

The Boston Red Sox season has not gone how they hoped.

The Red Sox have won two consecutive games, one each against the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox, to climb back into a winning record. Still, their 32-31 record places them firmly in third place in the American League East, behind the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.

At the start of spring training, reports suggested that Boston planned on trading All-Star veteran closer Kenley Jensen.

Those rumors fizzled out as the season began, but the club's struggles in the early summer have caused speculation to resurface. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported in May that Boston intends to trade Jansen prior to the trade deadline on July 30. Jensen, who is earning $16 million this season, is not expected to return to Boston after 2024.

Craig Breslow shoots down Kensley Jensen trade speculation

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn't rule out the possibility of trading Jensen, he said the club had not made any concrete decision about any player on their roster.

“I don’t actually know where that came from,” Breslow said on Wednesday. “I would not say anything with certainty right now. We’ve got plenty of baseball left.”

Boston's ability to contend for the postseason and available trade opportunities will ultimately decide the fate of Kensley. With the Red Sox struggling to build a competitive team, Breslow is determined to be more decisive and purposeful with his decision-making this season.

“I think the trade deadline is this inflection point where we have to pick a lane,” said Breslow. “I think it’s fairly straightforward what is going to drive that decision — namely, how are we performing? How many games are we winning? But secondarily, maybe what opportunities exist in trying to balance the short-term outlook and the long-term outlook?”

Despite their mediocre season, the Red Sox are seventh in the AL standings. With the Minnesota Twins on a three-game losing streak, Boston has managed to position themselves 1½ games behind Minnesota for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.

Jansen hasn't pitched well this season, but Boston's slew of injuries this season haven't helped either. The 36-year-old right-hander knows that his future is directly correlated to the team's win-loss record.

“I think at this point I’m kind of immune to [trade rumors] because it happened so much this offseason,” Jansen said on Monday. “I can’t think about that. I have to go out there and beat Baltimore and help my team win ballgames. That’s all I can focus on today.”

“It was way more frustrating in spring training,” Jansen added. “Now, It’s a business. The thing is, I have to worry about my guys who are here and how we can stay close and fight and win ballgames. Because at the end of the day, I still believe these guys can be great."