Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has developed into one of the elite relievers in all of baseball in recent years, mainly because of his consistency and availability.
The 2018 season was a bit different for Jansen though as he lacked both of those traits, largely being inconsistent on the mound and missing time due to a heart issue. The inconsistency, of course, was a bit of a product of dealing with the heart problems.
They began during the Dodgers’ series in Colorado against the Rockies in August. It was not the first time that Jansen dealt with an irregular heartbeat in Colorado, and it forced him to fly back to Los Angeles and miss a couple weeks of action.
Jansen was able to come back and finish out the season, but it was determined that he would need to undergo heart surgery, marking the second time his heart needed to be operated on.
Now that the season is over, it has been revealed the Jansen’s surgery is scheduled for the end of November, and it will require some recovery time although he should be ready for Spring Training, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Kenley Jansen will have heart surgery Nov. 26. Recovery best case is two weeks, but could be eight weeks. Should be ready for Spring Training either way.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) November 16, 2018
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently attributed Jansen’s struggles to mechanical issues, so that will be the main focus for him this offseason after he completes his surgery and rehab.
Jansen and the Dodgers did not take Spring Training that seriously in 2018 as he was eased into the season, which led to him getting off to a rough start. So the plan for him this time around will likely be different with the hope that he can get back to being his usual dominant self in 2019.
