Kenley Jansen, Red Sox Agree to Two Years, $32 Million
Free-agent closer Kenley Jansen agreed to terms with the Boston Red Sox Wednesday morning, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reported in a tweet. The deal is reportedly worth $32 million dollars across two years.
Jansen, 35, is in second place on the active career saves list (391), trailing only Craig Kimbrel (394). In addition, he is eighth on the all-time career save list. He passed Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley with his NL-leading 41st save of the 2022 season, doing so October 4 in his last appearance.
Consistent Production
Kenley Jansen spent 2010–2021 with the Los Angeles Dodgers before signing a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves for 2022. In 2011, he was the setup man for Javy Guerra before taking over as the Dodgers closer in 2012. Jansen has been in the NL top ten for saves each of the last nine seasons, starting in 2014, and 10 of the past 11.
The three-time All-Star had his best season in 2017, helping lead the Dodgers to their first pennant in 29 years. Jansen went 5–0 in 65 appearances with a 1.32 ERA (32 ERA–), an NL-leading 41 saves, and 44-0-1 GE-BE-M. He added 109 strikeouts, seven walks, and a 0.746 WHIP in 68 1/3 innings. In addition, he had a 1.9% HR% (3.2% league average), a 42.3% K% (21.7% LgAvg), and 2.7% BB% (8.75% LgAvg). The percentage-point difference between his K% and BB% was 39.5% — tops in the NL (min. 50 innings pitched).
When the Houston Astros got to him in Game Two of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium, it was only his second blown save of the entire year and first broken egg. Since that game, Jansen has not been as dominant. Despite his reduced production, however, he has still been in the upper echelon of closers over the past five seasons. He has gone 18–15 in 292 appearances with a 3.08 ERA (75 ERA–), 128-32-19 GE-BE-M, a 4.0 GE/BE ratio (3.0 LgAvg), and 161 saves in 187 opportunities, leading the NL in saves in 2022. In addition, he had 366 strikeouts, 100 walks, and a 1.045 WHIP in 292 innings. He also had a 3.0% HR%, 30.7% K%, 8.4% BB%, and 22.3% K-BB%.
Outlook
Jansen adds another potential weapon to a Red Sox relief corps that already includes Tanner Houck, Chris Martin, Joely Rodriguez, and John Schreiber. This will come as a welcome sight to the team and its fan base, as Red Sox relievers struggled in 2022. They blew a save in the seventh inning or later in 14 of their losses, with three of the 14 containing two in the seventh inning or later. In addition, they were dead last in the American League in scoreless outing percentage (ScOtg%), fourth from the bottom in goose egg to broken egg ratio (2.9), and second in broken eggs (41), trailing only the Minnesota Twins (43). The late-inning struggles to maintain a lead contributed to their 78–84 record and last-place finish in the AL East.
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Players mentioned:
Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Dennis Eckersley, Javy Guerra, Tanner Houck, Chris Martin, Joely Rodriguez, John Schreiber
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