Kenley Jansen has all but cemented himself as the greatest closer in Los Angeles Dodgers history at this point. His 280 career saves, all with the Dodgers, make him the franchise’s all-time leader in that category by quite a margin. Eric Gagne is second with just 161 saves.
But Jansen had a down year by his standards in 2018 and has proven shaky at times again this season. He currently sports a 4.42 ERA and two blown saves in just 18 appearances thus far in 2019.
Jansen has already given up four home runs, which is some cause for concern considering he surrendered a career-worst 13 last season. The most recent homer Jansen gave up came on a walk-off grand slam by Hunter Renfroe to help the San Diego Padres avoid being swept.
Jansen did not see the field again until he finished the Dodgers’ 6-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday — going a full week between appearances. Suffice to say, he was glad to get back on the mound, via SportsNet LA:
“I mean, I had like a month and a half that I feel like I didn’t pitch. Especially a game where you want to get back out there and pitch to kind of clear your mind and just be competitive.”
Rust did not appear an issue for Jansen despite the long layoff. He retired the side in order to preserve the shutout after Hyun-Jin Ryu carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Jansen said he had been throwing off a mound routinely to remain ready:
“I’ve been throwing bullpens, like 10 pitches down and away, working on some stuff every other day. When I see I’m not pitching three or four days in a row, then every day I cut my throwing program short on the field and get on the mound to keep working on some stuff so I can make sure I stay on top of the ball.”
Despite his struggles, Jansen recently reaffirmed that he feels healthy and confident as he aims to help the Dodgers win a seventh straight National League West title.
As one of the longest-tenured Dodgers, Jansen has become a vocal leader and is one of the most open members of the team. He spurned larger offers to return to Los Angeles in December 2016, though his five-year, $80 million deal remains one of the largest that the Dodgers have given out since Andrew Friedman took over baseball operations in 2014.
Jansen also made it clear that while he would be open to the Dodgers signing free-agent reliever Craig Kimbrel, he would not give up his role as closer in favor of any new addition.
