Most important Angels players for the 2025 MLB season: Kenley Jansen

The Los Angeles Angels did most of their free agent shopping early in the offseason, making a flurry of additions before the MLB Winter Meetings in December. As spring training approached, the Halos pulled off one more significant move, inking Kenley Jansen to a one-year deal to serve as their closer in 2025.

Jansen has not been the dominant ninth-inning guy he once was for a couple of seasons now. Still, he is a significant upgrade to the other options the Angels had outside of Ben Joyce. The franchise views Joyce as a setup man amid his health concerns following an impressive rookie season. With Jansen in the fold, the Angels envision plenty of zeros for opponents in the late innings of games.

Kenley Jansen brings winning expectations to the Angels

Signing a closer who is past his prime doesn’t automatically mean the Angels will drastically turn things around and win more ballgames than not. However, Jansen likely wouldn’t have joined the Halos had he not thought there is a chance to win with them. He showed last season he still has something left in the tank and there are more goals he wishes to accomplish before retirement.

Among those goals is recording 500 saves, something only two pitchers have ever done in Major League Baseball history: Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, maybe you've heard of them. Jansen needs 53 saves to reach that mark. While he (probably) won't hit that this season, there's a chance he can get at least 30 and put himself in position to top 500 in 2026.

If nothing else, Jansen brings much needed experience and a history of winning to an Angels bullpen that has had almost no involvement in high-leverage situations. Of the relievers projected to crack the Opening Day roster other than Jansen, only Brock Burke has pitched in the playoffs. He allowed five earned runs in two appearances with the Texas Rangers during the 2023 postseason.

Jansen pitched in 59 MLB playoff games in a 10-year span, making at least one appearance in October every season from 2013 through 2022. A lot needs to go right for the Angels to make the playoffs in 2025. Perhaps Jansen's history of pitching in big moments will propel his fellow relievers to new heights.

Don't expect dominance, but results should come for Jansen

Not since 2021 has Jansen finished a season with an ERA below three. In fact, that is the lone season which he was below that mark since a career-year in 2017. Still, the 37-year-old has had good seasons since and continues to be among the better closers in baseball.

He led the National League with 41 saves as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2022. Throughout his two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, he registered 56 saves out of 64 opportunities. He was an All-Star in 2023 and improved his numbers across the board in 2024. Opponents hitting numbers against him were much better last year as he significantly lowered their batting average (.237 in 2023 to .196 in 2024), on-base percentage (.314 to. .271) and slugging percentage (.379 to .304) in 10 more innings.

Jansen looked great in spring training, retiring 12 of the 14 hitters he faced across his first four appearances. He struggled against his former team, walking a pair and allowing two runs against the Dodgers on March 23. Maybe that serves as a motivator for Jansen as he enters year 16 in the big leagues.

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