The Los Angeles Dodgers got through a weekend in Denver without Kenley Jansen, taking two of three games from the Colorado Rockies, then reuniting with their All-Star closer on Monday.
After meeting with doctors and with respect to last month’s heart scare, Jansen didn’t join the Dodgers for the first three games of their road trip out of precaution. He’d previously asserted pitching at Coors Field would not be a problem.
And though he skipped the Dodgers’ latest visit, Jansen maintained he would be in position to face the Rockies on the road if they were to meet in the postseason.
While there’s plenty to be decided before that becomes a possibility, Jansen confirmed his future will include a second heart surgery in the coming months, per Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
Jansen said he intended to have the operation performed two weeks after the season ended. He underwent a similar procedure in 2012.
“My cardiologist said he was definitely going to find something in there,” Jansen said. “That’s why they did the MRI, too. They’re going to study the heart more.”
Like with Jansen’s surgery in 2012, he’s expected to make a full recovery in time for the start of Spring Training. The hope is the second procedure will solve the heart trouble Jansen has now experienced in Denver on multiple occasions.
He first dealt with heart trouble in 2011, though managed to still pitch at Coors Field but was taken to a hospital after the game. That was where Jansen learned he had atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat).
He was administered blood-thinning medication and spent one month on the disabled list. Jansen then experienced an irregular heartbeat during a 2012 visit to Coors Field, and in June 2015 had high blood pressure, felt fatigued and battled headaches.
Though in that instance Jansen was cleared to pitch and the symptoms were said to be a result of the high altitude, not Jansen’s history of heart trouble. Jansen felt this season’s heart issue was a byproduct of being dehydrated, not the altitude.
