Kenley Jansen signs one-year deal with Atlanta, leaving Dodgers after 12 years
The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves without a bullpen anchor for the first time in over a decade, as longtime closer Kenley Jansen agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves Friday.
The contract, worth $16 million over the 2022 season, will send the 34-year-old to his first team that isn't the Dodgers after Jansen was drafted by Los Angeles as a catcher out of Curacao back in 2004.
A few short years later and Jansen was called up to the big leagues as a relief pitcher, after team officials convinced him his offensive output wasn't enough to maintain a big league career.
Since then, he's been one of the game's best closers, locking down 350 saves, putting him at No. 13 all-time and second amongst active players following Craig Kimbrel's 372. It's also the most in Dodgers franchise history.
He sports a 2.37 career ERA with 1,022 strikeouts over 705.0 innings pitched. Jansen features an astounding strikeout percentage of 36.8% over the course of his career, meaning nearly 40% of the batters who have faced him have fallen victim to his devastating cutter.
Jansen is the 12th reliever in the history of Major League Baseball to eclipse 1,000 career strikeouts.
With the exception of the shortened 2020 season, Jansen has earned 30+ saves in seven consecutive seasons, earning three All-Star game nods in that time. He's a two-time Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award recipient, as well as a 2020 World Series Champion.
Now, Jansen will bring his talents to an otherwise stacked Atlanta bullpen that already features Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson, Collin McHugh, A.J. Minter, Will Smith (the pitcher), and Kirby Yates.