Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen Issues Challenge To Boston Teammate

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has no problem with a fellow Boston reliever potentially aspiring to take his job.

In fact, the newest member of Major League Baseball’s 400 saves club would fully embrace such a scenario.

Boston might already have its closer of the future in house. Josh Winckowski largely has been highly effective out of the bullpen since his Red Sox role change, and he previously expressed a level of interest in closing some day.

Jansen believes Winckowski could take on that billing, and he’s encouraging any potential competition that might surface in the Boston ‘pen.

“I encourage him to feel that way and think that he could close now,” Jansen told reporters, per MassLive. “That means that we’re going to have a really good bullpen. Of course, I have a couple years here. So I want that. I encourage that. Trust me. I do. That makes me feel relieved and positive when a young guy thinks that way in the bullpen. That means we’re going in a good direction. Because at the end of the day, it’s not only one person that has to do the job. It takes multiple persons to do the job. So I applaud him for feeling that way and keep encouraging him. Come take it away. That’s how we’re going to have a filthy bullpen.”

The Red Sox already boast a pretty solid bullpen, as the group’s ERA ranks 12th in the big leagues heading into Monday’s slate of games. And if Winckowski keeps improving and makes the decision-making even tougher for Alex Cora, it should only stand to benefit Boston as a team.

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