Coming off a season in which he threw a career-high 85 innings, including the postseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers went into Spring Training with a plan to lighten the workload on Kenley Jansen. The ultimate goal, of course, being on keeping Jansen fresh for an expected playoff run.
The 2017 season was an outstanding one for the right-handed closer, as over 68.1 innings, he pitched to a minuscule 1.32 ERA, 1.31 FIP and 0.75 WHIP, with 109 strikeouts to just seven walks. He tied for the National League lead with 41 saves and won the Trevor Hoffman Award, given to the National League’s best reliever, for a second straight season.
During the postseason, Jansen allowed just three runs over 16.2 innings pitched — good for a 1.62 ERA. For the second straight year he pitched multiple innings in his postseason outings, appearing on back-to-back days multiple times, adding to the wear-and-tear that he underwent throughout the season.
Jansen himself has said that it does not take him many appearances during the spring to be ready for Opening Day, so two weeks into Cactus League play he has yet to throw a single pitch in a game.
That is going to change on Friday, however, as Jansen is scheduled to make his debut with fellow relievers Tony Cingrani and Josh Fields to follow soon after, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Dave Roberts is slow-playing three of his MLB relievers. Kenley Jansen debuts tomorrow. Tony Cingrani will be next, at some point. Then Josh Fields.
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) March 8, 2018
Roberts said earlier this spring that Jansen will likely only pitch in two games this spring in addition to a few outings on the back fields.
Jansen has already appeared in a simulated game, which he said included some of the typical mechanical adjustments that come with each spring.
It can be presumed Cingrani and Fields are likely on a similar schedule as they get prepare for Opening Day. Cingrani was recently named as one of the five locks to make the 25-man roster in the bullpen out of Spring Training, while Fields may have some work to do although he is a shoe-in to earn one of the final three spots.
