Red Sox All-Star Responds To Trade Rumors With Deadline Looming

Boston will almost certainly move the hurler should they stay outside of the playoff window

Scott Neville | May 27, 2024

Apr 16, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A general view of the Fenway Park facade during a game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a .500 club (27-27) exactly one-third of the way through the 2024 season and appear to be heading toward selling at the July 30 Major League Baseball trade deadline.

Should that be the case, Boston will look to sell off impending free agents, starting with closer Kenley Jansen. While that has been obvious for months, USA Today's Bob Nightengale's latest report made waves -- stating that the Red Sox plan to trade the all-time closer this summer.

Jansen has been dealing with trade rumors since the beginning of the offseason and does not appear to be too bothered by the reports.

“It was way much more frustrating in spring training,” Jansen told reporters, as transcribed by MassLive's Christopher Smith. “But now, it’s a business. But the thing is, I’ve got to worry about my guys here today. How can we stay close and fight and win ballgames? Because at the end of the day, I still believe these guys could be great."

While I'm sure he does believe that it's possible to win in Boston, he's also been by far the most vocal player on the team regarding the front office's lack of activity dating back to last season's trade deadline. While those comments were warranted, there's a good chance he's not so worried about trade rumors because he'd welcome being moved to a contender.

Earlier this month Jansen said his priority was to win and heavily implied that if the Red Sox fall further out of the race, he'd like to be moved.

More MLB: Red Sox Sign Veteran Hurler, Surprisingly Option Fireballer To Minors

Published May 27, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu