Kenley Jansen makes plea for Red Sox to be buyers
This is foreign territory for Kenley Jansen.
For the past 10 seasons, the closer has only known postseason contention. The idea that his team might be a seller at the trade deadline - nevermind adding in the notion that he could be part of a deal - simply hasn't been on Jansen's radar.
But now Jansen - who signed a two-year contract to be in Boston - finds himself on a team that still doesn't have a clear direction when it comes to the Trade Deadline.
After the Red Sox' 7-3 win over the A's Friday night at Fenway Park (for a complete recap, click here), they find themselves three games out of the final Wild Card spot, having won three in a row. WIth two more home games against the lowly Athletics, coupled with a post-All-Star break series vs. the five games-under-.500 Cubs, the Red Sox seemingly could define their existence in the not-to-distant future.
But Jansen knows the Red Sox aren't certainly out of the woods yet. It's why when appearing on the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast, he made it clear how he - and others in the Sox' clubhouse - feel.
"When I signed my two years here I’m going to have my time invested here," said the Red Sox only All-Star. "I want to be dedicated here. I love this organization. I love this city. I think it’s a great organization. It’s a winning organization, so I don’t think you should break it. Break it and then what? For them to find me and Chris Martin and put those pieces after the last couple of years was for this organization, it wasn’t great … You see the 1-2 punch with us. At this point, it’s for them to figure out what’s best. To me, it’s just to put another punch back there with us. We’ve got a good a team. We’re just a few pieces away from probably being a very, very good team."
Jansen added, "I don’t know what their position is. Hopefully they keep this team together and find a way to add pieces."
To listen to the rest of Jansen's perspective when it comes to the Trade Deadline, click on the following audio file ...