Closer and likely future Hall of Famer Kenley Jansen is returning for a 16th season, this time with the Los Angeles Angels. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the NY Post reported Jansen will sign a one-year, $10 million deal with the Halos.
Kenley Jansen has agreed to a 1 yr, $10M deal with the Angels @JonHeyman 1st
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 11, 2025
Kenley Jansen is entering his age-37 season and spent the last two years with the Boston Red Sox. The big righty has also pitched for the Dodgers and Braves, taking home a World Series ring with Los Angeles in 2020. His 447 career saves lead among active players and rank fourth on the all-time list. Jansen is also just 31 saves away from tying with Hall-of-Famer Lee Smith in third place.
Looking past the age, this is a great deal for the Angels. They’ve already boosted their rotation with Yusei Kikuchi. Now, they’ve locked down the back end of the bullpen with a future Hall of Famer in Jansen.
Yes, that’s right. Kenley Jansen is all but certainly bound for Cooperstown at some point. He stands out even in an era where true star stoppers are a dying breed and the closer position interchangeable. Sure, he’s a “compiler” at this stage of his career, but there’s a difference.
Unlike other compilers, like new Giants righty Justin Verlander and Jansen’s fellow closer Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen still pitches at a high level. He’s 37, but still posts numbers as if he were ten years younger.
In 2024, pitching for an overachieving Red Sox team, Jansen saved a modest 27 games. However, his ERA and FIP were, respectively, 3.29 and 3.00 each.
That means that if you re-calculated Jansen’s stats from last year so that he only issued walks, strikeouts, and allowed home runs, he was actually better than he looked.
This is, believe it or not, common for Jansen. In fact, it’s been a theme throughout his career. His 2.57 career ERA is basically on par with his 2.54 FIP. Jansen has always been great with or without the mercy of his teammates’ gloves behind him.
Signing Kenley Jansen doesn’t put the Angels over the top. They’ll still need to fight and claw their way through the season just to be in the Wild Card conversation.
But in a year when the AL West is open and a Hall of Fame resume needs padding? Jansen could certainly do worse than signing on with the other Los Angeles team.
