When Kenley Jansen signed his two-year, $32 million contract with the Red Sox last winter, he had to expect that he’d be a topic of trade speculation.

Such is the nature of being a proven veteran joining a team mid-rebuild.

Jansen was a topic of trade speculation before last year’s trade deadline, and teams were certainly interested. Between Opening Day and the end of July, the longtime closer owned a 3.15 ERA over 34 ⅓ innings, with 41 strikeouts. His 38 appearances included 32 games finished and 23 saves in 26 opportunities; he’d converted his 400th career save in May, becoming the seventh player in MLB history to reach the elite milestone.

The Red Sox were a respectable 57-50 at the August 1 deadline – including 28-10 when Jansen pitched – but in fourth place, nine games out of first in the hotly-contested American League East. Leapfrogging their divisional and Wild Card competition was an uphill climb, and Boston’s front office didn’t appear to be remotely aggressive about bringing in necessary reinforcements.

There’s been little reinforcement this offseason, either, (though it’s impossible to make a definitive declaration until the upcoming season plays out). In terms of payroll, the Red Sox have done more subtraction than addition. At Winter Weekend earlier this month, president and CEO Sam Kennedy admitted that he expects this year’s payroll to be lower than the last. Boston’s $225.7 million spend in ‘23 was comfortably under the $233 million luxury tax threshold, enabling the Red Sox to reset their penalties after exceeding the year before.

On a mostly young, club-controlled roster, Jansen’s $16MM salary is one of the only significant reductions left for the Red Sox to make. Perhaps they’ll send him back to Los Angeles, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported earlier this month. The Dodgers have destroyed conventional spending this offseason, and Jansen is their all-time saves leader, so a reunion would be fitting if the pitcher is beginning to consider retirement.

How much does the 36-year-old closer have left in the tank? Last year, he posted the second-worst ERA of his career, and his 44 ⅔ innings and 27.7% strikeout rate were the lowest marks of his career, his debut season and the shortened 2020 notwithstanding. Opposing batters got to him more than ever, putting up career-highs in average (.237), on-base percentage (.314), and OPS (.693).

Yet in almost every other way, shipping Jansen off is not only unnecessary for the Red Sox, but could be detrimental. Doing so would open them up to a problem they were unable to solve for most of the last half-decade: not having a true closer.

There’s no clear successor for Jansen. Chris Martin was the ultimate set-up man last year, and was able to step in for Jansen on occasion, but only has 66 career games finished and 12 saves over his eight years in the Majors. Garrett Whitlock occasionally worked as a closer during his first two seasons; he has 24 career games finished and nine saves.

Likewise for Tanner Houck, who’s held every possible pitching role over his first four years in the Majors, but he’ll be competing for a rotation spot during spring training. Someone like Luis Guerrero, one of Boston’s non-roster invitees for spring training, might be ready down the road, and down the road is the Red Sox’s clear focus.

Perhaps there’s a better place for Jansen this year than bridge-year Boston. But trading him likely makes a questionable Red Sox roster even weaker, and creates another problem they won’t easily be able to solve.