While the Los Angeles Dodgers went into Spring Training with a plan to limit the workload for several of their regular and veteran players, it can be reasoned that the plan was crafted with Kenley Jansen heavily on the mind.
He threw just over 68 innings for a second consecutive season, then tacked on 16.2 frames during the Dodgers’ run to a postseason. Jansen’s 2017 total, save for Spring Training, of 85 innings set a career high.
Beyond the sheer volume of his work, Jansen went one-plus innings in several relief appearances last season, which the organization takes into account when determining the true impact of usage, as stress and situations are factored in.
So Jansen is among the select members of the pitching staff who has yet to appear in a Cactus League game this year. And despite falling victim to the same virus that forced the Dodgers to send players home by the droves, Jansen threw a simulated game on Thursday.
It included a mechanical adjustment that Jansen feels he makes each year, and the throwing session was deemed another step toward preparing for the regular season, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“The ball was coming out great. [I had] a few things I have to do to make my arm catch up with my lower body,” Jansen said. “I wasn’t doing it in the beginning, then when I was, the ball took off. Every year I have that. I don’t worry or stress about that anymore. Being a big guy, I have to make sure everything gets back to where it used to be. Day by day, [I’m] getting ready for Opening Day.”
The 30-year-old tied for the National League lead with 41 saves last season and won a second consecutive Trevor Hoffman Award. It’s presented annually to the top relief pitcher in the NL.
Moreover, Jansen’s 1.32 ERA was the lowest mark of his career since yielding a 0.67 ERA, but in just 25 games, as a rookie in 2010.
