Padres Rumors: SD could face stiff competition from rival for Red Sox closer

Could San Diego finally complete a trade for a reliever they have prized for a long time?

Eric Cole

Philadelphia Phillies v Boston Red Sox / Jaiden Tripi/GettyImages

True to form, it sure sounds like San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller is once again going to be right in the middle of the trade deadline chaos. The front office has already surprised many across the industry with their aggression in 2024 after trading for Dylan Cease and then swinging a deal with the Marlins for Luis Arraez at time when trades almost never happen.

However, the Padres are far from done despite the fact that they just had a series to forget against the Mets. Not only are they still checking on on the starting pitching market, but it appears as though they are also rumored to be continuing their pursuit of Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen that goes back to last offseason. Unfortunately, the Dodgers are reportedly eyeing a reunion as well, setting the stage for a possible bidding war between division rivals.

Padres reportedly keeping an eye on Kenley Jansen trade market

Jansen's fate at the trade deadline is a little bit tricky. While Boston is already pretty far back in the AL East with little chance of that changing given how well the Orioles and Yankees are playing, they're right in the AL wild card race, and trading away their closer could be a tough sell. However, Jansen is in the last year of his deal with the Red Sox and many pending free agents, even on good teams, get moved this time of year. Most seem to believe Boston is entertaining trading him.

San Diego's interest in Jansen last offseason got to the point when many thought a deal was inevitable. However, the two sides were not able to get a deal done, but it sounds like the Padres are still in on him even now. Jansen has put together another excellent season so far in 2024 with a 2.74 ERA in 22 appearances, so one can understand the appeal on the Padres' side.

However, the Dodgers' interest does present a problem. They really could use the bullpen depth given all of the injuries they've had to deal with this year, and Jansen's history with the Dodgers could lead him to at least try to steer any trade talks in their direction. It also doesn't help that the Dodgers are heavily invested in succeeding this season, so they could give the Red Sox an offer for Jansen they can't refuse.

In short, the Kenley Jansen chatter isn't likely to die down any time soon, but it isn't wise to count Preller out if we have learned anything from his time in charge of the front office.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.