Kenley Jansen made it clear that there is more baseball in his future by saying he’s playing four more years shortly after the Los Angeles Angels ended their 2025 season.
The veteran closer is slated to become a free agent after finishing his 16th major-league season.
“Four more years,” Jansen said after Sunday’s 6-2 home loss to the Houston Astros. “For sure. That’s the goal. Offseason begins tomorrow. No kidding. I’m getting in the gym at 5 a.m. tomorrow.”
Jansen signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Angels in February and went 5-4 with a 2.59 ERA. The right-hander recorded 29 saves in 30 opportunities and didn’t allow a single hit over his last 10 appearances.
Jansen, who turns 38 on Tuesday, has 476 career saves, two behind Hall of Famer Lee Smith for third place on the all-time list.
Fellow Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601) are the top two on the saves list.
Interim Angels manager Ray Montgomery expects Jansen to soar past the 500-save milestone.
“He’s a Hall of Famer who knows what he needs to do to be ready to save games, and every time he goes out on that mound, you just feel like the game is in hand,” Montgomery said. “If you tell me he’s going to pitch until he’s 50, I’ll believe it.”
A return to the Angels (72-90) appeals to Jansen despite the club’s streak of missing the postseason now at 11 seasons.
Jansen spent his first 12 big-league seasons (2010-21) with the Los Angeles Dodgers and then was with the Atlanta Braves for one season and the Boston Red Sox for two before playing this season in Anaheim.
“They know where I’m living,” Jansen said of team brass. “I care about these guys in this clubhouse. I want to be a part to help them bring this organization back to the postseason. That’s for sure.
“But at the same time, when it becomes an open market, everything can go. You never know where you’re going to go, where you going to end up. So that’s the one thing I learned about the last four years on the free agent market. So it’s basically not in my hands. It’s in their hands.”
Jansen, a four-time All Star, is 54-40 with a 2.57 ERA in 933 career relief appearances.
–Field Level Media
Comments