Could Boston find a deal with the Dodgers after the latest buzz?

The Boston Red Sox record hovered around .500 for much of the season. As the trade deadline approaches, Boston must determine whether it will be a buyer or a seller.

There are several players the Red Sox plan to deal regardless of their record by the July deadline. Veteran closer Kenley Jansen is among them — he’s in the final year of his contract with the club and isn’t expected to be a 2025 reunion.

Despite their significant offseason spending — and “significant” may even be an understatement — the Los Angeles Dodgers will need to recruit some help before July 30. Ken Rosenthal by The Athletic believes Jansen could help the Dodgers fix their late-inning woes.

LA has used a revolving door of relievers throughout the season to properly pitch the bullpen. Injuries also didn’t help the Dodgers’ case as the bullpen did a lot of work with many key guys out of action.

Rosenthal also suggested the Dodgers need to improve their offense in the middle of the batting order, and doing so through the outfield might be the best way overall. The Red Sox have an outfielder they could package with Jansen to make a deal with LA.

Tyler O’Neill made waves in his first month with Boston. His defense has been terrific and he still leads the team in homers despite a recent offensive slump and injury. The outfielder is slashing .236/.343/.500 with an .843 OPS and ranks in the 90th percentile in walk rate. His bat and eye could help LA’s outfield get on base more often.

O’Neill’s lockdown offense could be attributed to lingering injury issues, and the slugger was placed on the 10-day injured list to heal knee inflammation.

If the Red Sox end up being sellers at the deadline and don’t intend to extend O’Neill, dealing him would be the best option — Boston could collect a refund for him and Jansen instead of letting O’Neill both to go for nothing, which would be an improvement on the performance of the trading deadlines in recent years.

The defending World Series champion Texas Rangers and MLB leader the Philadelphia Phillies are weak spots for both clubs, so there could be a big demand for an experienced October closer like Jansen. The Red Sox could secure a nice return from him and O’Neill together for a team that also needs a right-handed outfielder.