Report: Angels Sign Kenley Jansen to a 1-Year Deal
Feb 11, 2025 - Written by Alex Sukyas
Photo Credit : @MLBTradeRumors - X
Jansen’s Career
4x All-Star RHP Kenley Jansen, 37, has signed with Angels Tuesday morning. The 15 year vet has had a HOF worthy career. The righty debuted halfway through the 2010 season for the Dodgers, in which he would stay with the franchise for 12 years. Jansen would maintain a 2.37 ERA in his 12 year stint with LA, along with reaching three All-Star games, and finishing 5th in Cy Young voting in 2017. Ahead of the 2022 season, Jansen would sign with the Atlanta Braves on a $16M deal. He would stay with the franchise for one season, however. The following offseason, he would sign with the Boston Red Sox for 2 years, $16M a year. With Boston, Jansen put up a 3.44 ERA across two years, along with making an All-Star Game appearance in 2023. Throughout his career, Jansen has held excellent numbers in key stats. He’s held a 2.57 ERA, a .576 W/L, a .963 WHIP, a .8 HR9, and a 12.7 SO9. Along with this, he's accumulated 1221 strikeouts, 447 saves, and 49 wins with 868.1 IP. Jansen is currently viewed as a top closer all time with good potential to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Contract Details
As previously mentioned, it was reported Tuesday morning that Jansen would be headed down to Anaheim to sport the Angels red on a one year deal. This news was reported initially by MLB insider John Heyman, who writes for the NY Post. It was later revealed that this deal is worth $10M, all to be paid in the one year span Jansen will be on the Angel’s roster.
Why did the Angels make this signing?
The Angels did this deal for two obvious reasons. The first reason being that the Angels’ pitching core is in desperate need for help. The Angels’ pitching core held a not so thrilling 4.56 ERA and 1.348 WHIP. When it comes to the Angels’ bullpen exclusively, the Angels’ relievers had a 3.99 ERA and a WHIP of 1.27. Jansen does show better stats in these, with the previously mentioned 2.57 ERA and .963 WHIP. Along with this, another reliever exclusive stat was also concerning to see for the Angels. This stat being saves, in which the Angels had 35 total in 53 attempts. This ranks them 26th in the stat, and means they blew 18 of these save opportunities. With Jansen, he will help this as he beat the team in saves by himself last season, getting 38. The Angels also did not record a single complete game in 2024, so having a solid bullpen will definitely help if this inability to record one continues.
The second reason is Jansen will act as a mentor to up-and-coming RHP Ben Joyce and others. Ben Joyce, a 24 year old entering his 3rd season, is still young and developing. With his debut being May 2023, hes been a more promising Angels Pitcher. His main quality is he is a fireballer. His fastball has reached a top speed of 105.5 MPH before. His average velo is between 100-102 MPH, while it is known to touch 104-105 MPH. These speeds have proved successful to him on a major league level, as he is viewed as a closer of the future. Joyce shows a 2.82 career ERA, due to a horrible 2023 season, in which he appeared in 12 games and ended with a 5.40 ERA. However, he has bounced back since then in which in 2024 he had a 2.08 ERA in 31 games. Joyce’s WHIP does need to be lowered as he gets accustomed to a closer role and Jansen will aid in that, seeing his lower WHIP of .963. Joyce’s fastball capabilities have proved difficult for hitters, when they hit .210 against the righty. When it comes to Joyce and Jansen, the main things that I see improving are Joyce's closer capabilities and WHIP. After Jansen is done mentoring Joyce, hopefully Joyce will be more than ready to dominate the bigs. I also see Jansen helping other young players, such as RHP Ryan Zeferjahn, LHP Jose Suarez, and RHP Hans Crouse.
Conclusion
This Jansen signing is something the Angels could use. Jansen will bring veteran experience to the bullpen, while being a cheaper option. He may also attract other pitching talent, but that is up for the front office to decide who to sign.
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