Jansen gets traded at the deadline and Hendriks is not yet recovered from his TJS. How do the Red Sox handle the Closer role for the last 2 months? Give me some options if the Red Sox are and are not in contention.
Stop-Gap Closer
- Thread starter Sin Duda
- Start date
Bernardino is the obvious one.
Martin?
Maybe even Criswell if Winckowski takes his spot (innings issues) or Winckowski if he doesn’t?
Was hoping Mata would end up here.
Possibly Wikelman?
I could see them trading Jensen while stilm in contention too.
I was thinking Bernardino too and his 0.72 ERA really stands out. He's been great against both LHH (.378 OPS) and RHH (.428 OPS) so far this season. I'd definitely use him if 2 of 4 upcoming batters are LHH. Maybe Weissert or Slaten if 3 of 4 batters are RHH (both with high .500s OPS against RHH).
It feels like he's being groomed for this
And I think Bernadino is in the perfect role for him.
I like the vibes that Bernardino gives too: he comes into games with a certain amount of emergency look to him, and walks off the mound with a little look to heaven.
Normally when a team trades a high leverage reliever at the deadline they don't eat any money because the acquiring team is only on the hook for a third of the salary anyway. That would be 5.33 million in Kenley's case. And the acquiring team usually wants the guy especially for the postseason. I'd be interested if there are any examples of teams eating money in a case like this.
I imagine the Sox would eat most if not all of the salary; they don’t need to cut payroll, do they? I question if the return would really be worth it, though. Can never have too many prospects, but is the likely return on a guy like Jansen worth downgrading a team, which will surely be within a handful of games of a playoff spot?
To answer the question; I’d assume Martin, if he’s around. If not, Slaten or Weissert?
To answer the question; I’d assume Martin, if he’s around. If not, Slaten or Weissert?
Last edited:
What prospect haul? One of the downsides of the extra teams in the playoffs is that teams must realize their odds of winning the World Series even after making the post season are still long. Is somebody going to trade a valuable prospect for 20 innings of Kanley Jansen in August and September, plus some more innings in a post season run that might last a few games?
Teams also seem to have gotten smarter about stuff like this. Would anyone here be happy if the Sox traded one of our top prospects in late July for a "proven closer" if we're still in the Wild Card hunt?
Last edited:
Yes? Look what the Royals got for Chapman just last year: a young Dominican outfielder and a AAA pitcher who is currently their best SP in the majors.
In the AL you have the Twins, Rays, Royals, and Tribe who are all in contention. Does it matter for the Yanks for Dodgers, no, but some teams are working on very tight budgets.
Not a reliever, but the Sox got Eric Hosmer at the deadline a couple years ago and the Padres paid nearly all of his remaining salary (multiple years). Just one quick example.
edit to add: the Mets paid a fair chunk of both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander's remaining contracts when they traded them last July.
It's not really that uncommon. Teams will pay remaining salary in exchange for a better return (better prospects, etc).
David Robertson and Jordan Hicks were also rental relievers that fetched solid prospect packages last summer.
I understand the concept, but the examples you gave were all guys with big contracts running into at at least the next year, much more money involved, totally different situations.
I'm only talking about relievers who are strictly rentals for 2 months plus the playoffs.
Anyway, we'll see if the Sox pay any of Jansen's salary when they trade him.
Yes, however there is almost no chance they will be solidly in a playoff spot. They are three games out now in a huge pool of other pretty bad teams.
If you can get anything for Jansen you trade him.
Is the gulf between the likes of the Royals and Twins (#2 and #3 wildcards ATM) and the Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Jays, and Rays that large that none can close that 3-5 game gap over the next 6-8 weeks? I agree that no one will be "solidly" in a wildcard spot at the deadline but being within a couple games of one at the deadline, particularly if their competition is "other pretty bad teams," strikes me as contending and reason to consider not trading away contributing assets. That's not to say that they absolutely should hold on to Jansen, but I don't think they should trade him for just "anything" either.
If they can get something along the lines of what the Royals got for Chapman or the Mets got for Robertson or the Cards got for Hicks, sure move him. If the best they can do is a lottery ticket prospect or "cash considerations", it's possible the best value they can get out of him is him pitching in a Red Sox uniform in August, September and hopefully October.
I'm inclined to agree that they should trade Jansen, but not if it's for just anything, but if and only if the return is good. I also think that because the Sox bullpen is pretty great right now (last night notwithstanding) and someone could easily step in to take his place.
That said, declaring this team dead in the water would be premature. They've got the best run differential of anybody in the hunt for that third playoff spot by 15 or so runs, and are due to get a lot of players back soon. Yoshida, O'Neill, and Casas are all due back this month, and Campbell is too, which should hopefully be a huge boon for the lineup and a bolster to the bullpen. Now it's possible all of that goes sideways, or the players don't perform, or more guys get injured, and if so, yes, they should absolutely sell. But that's three above average hitters added to a lineup that has been desperate for anyone to back up the guys 1-5. (Now, did I make the same argument last year when they were due to get Story, Sale, Whitlock and Houck were due back? Yes. lol.)
I'm not saying they're a lock for a playoff spot, a lot can go wrong, but they should absolutely be trying to make the playoffs from this position. Every single time you make the playoffs you have a chance of winning a world series. Trade Jansen though, if the return is great, and you feel good about throwing Slaten or Hendriks in as the closer? Sure, why the hell not?
That said, declaring this team dead in the water would be premature. They've got the best run differential of anybody in the hunt for that third playoff spot by 15 or so runs, and are due to get a lot of players back soon. Yoshida, O'Neill, and Casas are all due back this month, and Campbell is too, which should hopefully be a huge boon for the lineup and a bolster to the bullpen. Now it's possible all of that goes sideways, or the players don't perform, or more guys get injured, and if so, yes, they should absolutely sell. But that's three above average hitters added to a lineup that has been desperate for anyone to back up the guys 1-5. (Now, did I make the same argument last year when they were due to get Story, Sale, Whitlock and Houck were due back? Yes. lol.)
I'm not saying they're a lock for a playoff spot, a lot can go wrong, but they should absolutely be trying to make the playoffs from this position. Every single time you make the playoffs you have a chance of winning a world series. Trade Jansen though, if the return is great, and you feel good about throwing Slaten or Hendriks in as the closer? Sure, why the hell not?
This is a wildly unpopular opinion, but I think we should definitely trade Jansen and Martin.
I'd want to do the "buy-and-sell" strategy (*crowd boos*). I just think you have to use all the moments of market "liquidity" in the baseball calendar to make moves to improve the talent in your organization — for both the present and the future. That should mean moving on from players whom we aren't likely to retain and can't be QO'd: And, as I've harped on and on about in like five threads, this may shape up to be a very good opportunity to bring in a middle-of-the-order bat for the next few years.
So pretty much no matter where we are in the standings, I would be looking to move Jansen and Martin to clearer contenders for the best package of prospects available, but with an eye to low-minors pitching and high-minors power bats, still organizational weaknesses. And I would look to be trading from our growing prospect hoard (especially of infielders) for the best RH slugger at any position (with 2–4 years of control) we can get, so all the guys we've been talking about in other threads: Rooker, Joe, France, et al.
We are expecting Hendriks back midseason and Isaiah Campbell sooner, and we do have more minor league pitchers with bullpen potential than we're using. We can absolutely patch together replacements for Jansen and Martin. Some candidates: Ryan Zeferjahn, Zach Penrod, Zack Kelly...
I'd want to do the "buy-and-sell" strategy (*crowd boos*). I just think you have to use all the moments of market "liquidity" in the baseball calendar to make moves to improve the talent in your organization — for both the present and the future. That should mean moving on from players whom we aren't likely to retain and can't be QO'd: And, as I've harped on and on about in like five threads, this may shape up to be a very good opportunity to bring in a middle-of-the-order bat for the next few years.
So pretty much no matter where we are in the standings, I would be looking to move Jansen and Martin to clearer contenders for the best package of prospects available, but with an eye to low-minors pitching and high-minors power bats, still organizational weaknesses. And I would look to be trading from our growing prospect hoard (especially of infielders) for the best RH slugger at any position (with 2–4 years of control) we can get, so all the guys we've been talking about in other threads: Rooker, Joe, France, et al.
We are expecting Hendriks back midseason and Isaiah Campbell sooner, and we do have more minor league pitchers with bullpen potential than we're using. We can absolutely patch together replacements for Jansen and Martin. Some candidates: Ryan Zeferjahn, Zach Penrod, Zack Kelly...
They aren't a realistic contender. Maybe just maybe they can eek out the third wild card but they have the lowest odds in their division at about 11%, only three teams have worse odds than the Red Sox in the AL in Fangraphs Playoff Odds. If you look at their schedule, August and September are brutal. I don't think Jansen is going to be the difference between making it or not and he will have more value on another team.
If they are around here in late July, I would think about keeping Pivetta (using a QO) but Jansen and Martin I would trade right now if you could get a decent return.