The payroll has become a topic of conversation for the Red Sox. Despite chairman Tom Werners full throttle comments earlier in the offseason, CEO  recently that this years payroll will probably be lower than last years. It was last month by Chris Cotillo of Ma sLive that the club could look to shed some more payroll in order to improve their ability to pursue their free agent targets.  Per , the clubs payroll currently sits at $178MM. It hasnt been that low in a full season since 2014, per , but it seems the pursestrings are getting tight nonethele s. The club has been connected to some big name free agents that are still available, such as  and  , but perhaps they need to free up a  Yoan Moncada Jersey bit of cash before they can earnestly pursue any of those. More affordable options would include  ,  ,  and others.  Cotillos report identifies  as a po sible candidate for such a salary-clearing deal, which is a logical fit. He signed a two-year, $32MM deal with the Sox last offseason, with even salaries of $16MM in each campaign. His first season in Boston was solid, though not spectacular. He recorded 29 saves in 33 chances, posting an earned run average of 3.63 on the year. His 27.7% strikeout rate was above league average but the lowest single-season mark in his career. The club has received trade interest in him.  With the  deal, the club flipped the soon-to-be-35-year-old for a younger second baseman in  while effectively replacing Sale by signing  . Perhaps the club is thinking of a similar path with the bullpen, as they have been connected to relievers like  and  , though those two have now signed with other clubs. With Jansen now 36 years old, they could perhaps exchange him for whatever the market will bear, then pivot to a younger arm to bolster the relief corps.  They could also consider replacing him internally with someone like  , though there would also be some logic to consider trading him as well. He was signed to a two-year, $17.5MM deal last offseason, with $9MM of that still to be paid out. Per the , hell make a $7.5MM salary this year and a $1.5MM payment of his $4MM signing bonus is scheduled for June.  Martin, 38 in June, is coming off a dominant season in a setup role. He posted an ERA of 1.05 in 55 appearances, racking up 23 holds in the proce s. He struck out 23.1% of opponents, walked just 4% of them and got grounders at a 51% clip. Martins never really been a closer in the majors, with just 12 career saves, though he did have a 21-save season while pitching in Japan in 2016.  Similar to the logic with Sale and Jansen, perhaps the club would consider making Martin available on the trade market and then replacing him with a younger free agent. Or perhaps they would like to trade one, keep one in the closers role and use the saved money to further addre s their rotation.  The relief pitching market has recently started to move, with many dominoes falling of late. In addition to Hicks and Stephenson,  ,  and  have come off the board in the past little bit. That leaves  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  and  as some of the best bullpen options still available. With the market getting thinner, perhaps the Sox can flip Jansen and/or Martin, then use the money saved to addre s their rotation.  Chief baseball officer  recently identified the clubs rotation locks as Giolito,  ,  and  , with  ,  ,  ,  and  among the options for the back end and depth jobs.  What do you think? Should the Sox subtract from the bullpen in order to upgrade the club in other ways? If so, who should they move? Have your say in the poll below!  Should the Red Sox trade Jansen or Martin?  Yes, trade Jansen 46.61%  (3,770votes)  Yes, trade both 30.19%  (2,442votes)  No, keep both 19.67%  (1,591votes)  Yes, trade Martin 3.52%  (285votes)  Total Votes: 8,088  Sean Burke Jersey
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