MLB insider proposes Dodgers let Red Sox off the hook again with latest trade idea

One month before the MLB trade deadline, baseball scribes are expending a lot of their energy begging the Boston Red Sox to be good.

Ken Rosenthal's latest column served as another example, charting a course for Boston's upstart bunch to make meaningful additions while trying to tempt John Henry into serving his people. After this past offseason's worth of overtures, followed by round two with the deadline approaching, no Red Sox fan will ever have a legitimate case again to claim that the national media hates them. MLB insiders are cajoling your owners to go take down the Yankees and Orioles even more forcefully than you are. They love you!

With that in mind, Rosenthal pitched a buy/sell opportunity that will probably be of some interest as new Red Sox head man Craig Breslow attempts to pick a lane. While Boston's rotation has regressed from their sterling first month, the bullpen has cultivated a wide array of gemstones. Veteran Kenley Jansen, the subject of many trade rumors this past offseason, will enter free agency again this offseason at the age of 37, and is posting another All-Star first half.

Unfortunately, that All-Star first half hasn't exactly been predicated on barrels, whiffs, and the many good things that typically portend continued success. Jansen is a well-worn veteran who's laser focused on accruing one more ring. Before the season, it was widely assumed he'd find his way back to experiencing some California Love when the Red Sox were viewed as sellers. Now? Such a swap still can't be ruled out, and Rosenthal would like Boston to use Jansen to acquire a high-upside arm ... like, perhaps, a starting pitcher who could be bought low at the moment.

An arm like, say, the Dodgers' Walker Buehler. Huh?!

MLB Rumors: Red Sox should trade Kenley Jansen for a starter like Walker Buehler at his lowest value?

Forget the production, to this point in time. It's extremely unlikely that a veteran, meltdown-prone closer provides the Red Sox as much down the stretch than a playoff-tested recent ace on the rebound. It's also extremely unlikely that Boston, upon trading Jansen, finds themselves befuddled and completely unable to replace him with the help of their burgeoning pitching lab.

This deal, like most that have floated around in recent weeks, seems designed to get the resurgent Sox a bite at the "ace" apple while surrendering a piece who's less than integral to their stretch run chances. Move Brennan Bernardino or Bryan Mata to the ninth. Send Jansen back to his home in LA so he can regress across the country. Take advantage of Buehler getting his sea legs out from under him as his arm bounces back to reality (yes, we're well aware he posted a 5.84 ERA in eight starts before returning to the IL).

This was just a Rosenthal whim, predicated on the idea that the Red Sox would be better off with any high-upside starter than Jansen. We tend to agree and, knowing that the Dodgers have always been there to provide the Red Sox life rafts since 2008, this certainly feels realistic. The only thing standing in the way right now, ironically, is James Paxton, who's been unable to hold the Dodgers' rotation down in the meantime, and might lead to them buying a significant piece rather than bailing on Buehler.

One can only hope, because this smells.