Red Sox $32 Million Star Has 'Zero Chance' Of Returning To Boston

Boston certainly will look a little different in 2025

Jul 7, 2020; Boston, Massachusetts, United States; A general view of empty seats at Fenway Park during the Boston Red Sox Summer Camp. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox certainly need to make a specific effort to bolster the bullpen this winter.

Boston's bullpen had some good pieces in 2024, but things didn't work out. The Red Sox finished the season with one of the worst bullpen ERAs in baseball and now need to completely rebuild it. One bright spot was the performance of impending free agent Kenley Jansen, but he isn't expected to return.

MassLive.com's Christopher Smith even went far enough to predict that there is "zero chance" that the All-Star closer decides to re-sign in Boston.

"There’s zero chance 37-year-old closer Kenley Jansen re-signs," Smith said. "Teammates were disappointed with him after he skipped the final series of the year to return home early. He recorded 56 saves over his two seasons with Boston. Both Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten are candidates to replace him at closer."

Jansen was everything the team could've hoped for over the last two seasons. Boston has struggled at the end of games in recent seasons so the team wanted to go out and bring in a dependable star to be the team's closer. Jansen was just that and made things easier for Boston.

While this is the case, his stint in Boston featured plenty of trade rumors as well as some negative chatter on top of his great performance. It's unclear where he will go, but it doesn't sound like he will be wearing a Red Sox jersey in 2025.

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