Kenley Jansen is criticizing the Boston Red Sox for their lack of acquisitions at the trade deadline, and he now asserts that if they had made those additions, they would currently be in the playoffs.
In a recent episode of the "Baseball Isn't Boring Podcast," Jansen told host Rob Bradford, "We do have a great team, and if we would have had a couple of starters at the trade deadline, we wouldn't be talking about this right now. We would be playing in a Wild Card game right now."
Jansen has a valid reason to voice his concerns because the Red Sox had the potential to secure a postseason spot, but they ultimately fell short. After this disappointment, they made the decision to fire Chaim Bloom because he didn't make any significant moves, despite the Red Sox's aspirations of being contenders.
Kenley Jansen blasts Red Sox for lack of trade deadline moves
In September, the Red Sox's slump deepened, and they are now in last place with a record of 76-81 in one of the toughest divisions.
The Red Sox, at best, have a strong starting pitcher and two decent ones between Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and Chris Sale. However, none of them made a substantial contribution to the team, and the additions they attempted to make, such as Corey Kluber, failed. While the Red Sox have a solid bullpen, it can't carry the team to victories alone.
In 2023, the Red Sox have had 17 different pitchers start a game due to constant injuries, demotions, and promotions. This instability in the pitching staff has contributed to their struggles, with a team pitching ERA of 4.59, ranking 11th out of the 15 American League teams. Additionally, they rank 14th in hits allowed and 8th in walks issued.
Jansen's frustration is understandable because he desires to be part of a team that can contend consistently. Falling short of expectations is always disappointing, but what aggravates him the most is that the Red Sox didn't make an effort to address the glaring issues that were evident to everyone.
Rather than addressing the weaknesses in the rotation, the Red Sox chose to let the problems resolve themselves, resulting in a missed opportunity for a playoff run and ultimately leading to the firing of Chaim Bloom.
