There is no doubt that the Boston Red Sox did not have clarity when it came to having a closer in 2022. Matt Barnes, Tanner Houck and John Schreiber all c0-led the Red Sox with eight saves each. That should change in 2023, as on Wednesday, the Red Sox signed closer Kenley Jansen of Willemstad, Curacao to a two-year deal worth $32 million, according to the Associated Press. The Red Sox will be the third team Jansen has played for as he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2010 to 2021, and with the Atlanta Braves in 2022.
2022 National League Saves Leader
There is no doubt that the Red Sox will get one of the best closers in the game today. Now the question Red Sox fans will have is if Jansen is able to pitch effectively in the hitter-friendly ball park of Fenway Park and is not be impacted too much by the Green Monster. In 2022, Jansen led the National League in saves with 41 while with the Braves. Ironically, he also led the National League in saves with 41 when he pitched for the Dodgers in 2017.
This past season, Jansen was second in Major League Baseball in saves. He was only behind Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase of Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic, who had 42 saves. In 2017 when Jansen led the National League with 41 saves, he was also second in the Major Leagues in saves. He only trailed Tampa Bay Rays closer Alex Colome of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, who had 47 saves.
2022 Statistics
Jansen had a record of five wins and two losses in 65 games with an earned run average of 3.38. In 64 innings pitched, he gave up 45 hits, 24 earned runs, eight home runs, and 22 walks, to go along with 85 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.05.
All-Star with the Dodgers
While with Los Angeles, Jansen was an All-Star for three straight years from 2016-2018. In those thee seasons, he had a combined total of 126 saves. In 2020, he also won the World Series with the Dodgers.
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