There still are a ton of question marks surrounding the 2020 Major League Baseball season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
While a big topic of conversation currently is the financial negotiations going on between the league and Players Association, the No. 1 priority still should be about player safety due to the pandemic.
After all, it will be the players that are putting their own safety and health on the line by playing a 2020 season, so the league needs to due everything they can to ensure safe playing environments.
Some players have expressed concern over their safety due to past health conditions. Kenley Jansen has had two heart surgeries in the past decade which almost forced him to put his career on hold.
Despite that, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Jansen’s agent Adam Katz confirmed that heart issues do not put the closer at higher risk of getting coronavirus and he is ready to go for the 2020 season whenever it begins, via Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times:
“From everything I’ve heard, Kenley is not at any higher risk than anyone else,” Roberts said. “He’s a caged lion right now. He can’t get going soon enough.”
Added Jansen’s agent, Adam Katz: “To my knowledge, Kenley is ready to go.”
This is obviously good news for the Dodgers and Jansen, who are coming into the 2020 season with chips on their shoulders after a rough ending to last season.
The 2019 season was arguably Jansen’s worst with the Dodgers, posting a 3.71 ERA, 3.48 FIP and 1.06 WHIP with 80 strikeouts and 16 walks in 63 innings across 62 appearances. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed that he is still the team’s closer though so he will have an opportunity to redeem himself in 2020.
His health is the most important thing though, so it’s certainly good news hearing that he is not concerned and ready to go for the season.
There is still no confirmed date on when baseball will be able to return, but if the league and Players Association can come to an agreement on a deal, then Jansen and the Dodgers could be back on the field in the coming weeks.
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