The Boston Red Sox certainly have been a pleasant surprise so far this season.

Boston hasn’t been at full strength by any stretch of the imagination and yet the club currently is four games above .500 with an 18-14 record. The Red Sox have been scrappy and have found ways to win ballgames despite being severely undermanned.

The Red Sox entered the season with low expectations and many said before the campaign even started that the club likely would be sellers ahead of the trade deadline. Boston hadn’t even played a single game and many people already had given up on the season.

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen was the club’s most talked-about trade candidate and there was a time when a deal seemed like a certainty. While that was the case, he may not be traded anymore, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

“Kenley Jansen looked like the most obvious closer trade candidate when the season began,” Heyman said. “But the Red Sox seem too good to sell.”

Jansen sticking around with Boston for the rest of the season certainly would help. He has been great so far this season and currently has a 1.86 ERA in 10 appearances. Boston’s bullpen has been solid so far this season and keeping Jansen only would help. Plus, three-time All-Star Liam Hendriks should be ready to return to the mound around the trade deadline as well giving the Red Sox another boost in the bullpen.

Boston has surprised people so far and once it starts to get healthier it should get even better.