Kenley Jansen’s Path to 500 Career Saves Heads to Anaheim

Kenley Jansen has found a new home, signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels just as Spring Training kicks off across the country.

The 37-year-old closer is coming off two seasons with the Boston Red Sox where he successfully converted 56 of 64 save opportunities. He has now put himself in elite company with 447 career saves, 4th all-time behind Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601), and Lee Smith (478). 

Only needing 32 saves, Jansen has a legitimate shot at claiming sole possession of third place on the all-time saves list. If he continues to find success as the years go on, the milestone of 500 career saves will be well within reach.

And personally, I wouldn’t count Trevor Hoffman’s spot out of range just yet. Both Hoffman and Rivera remained effective into their early 40s. If Jansen follows suit, he can start prepping his Hall of Fame speech. To get to 600 though, Jansen first needs to get to 500.

Next Stop on Path to 500 Saves: Disneyland

Heading into his 16th MLB season, it’s fair to question how much Jansen has left in the tank.

When we look into his last three seasons, there’s clear regression from the dominance he displayed with the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the 2010’s. Jansen recorded the worst barrel rate (11.1%) and hard-hit rate (37%) of his career in 2024.

However, Jansen still displayed his ability to navigate high-leverage situations. He converted 87% of his save opportunities while posting an 82nd-percentile expected ERA, 84th-percentile strikeout rate, and 86th-percentile expected batting average.

In fact, Jansen has displayed remarkable consistency as he ages:

Even though the ninth-inning may be more nerve-wracking at this stage of his career, Jansen has proven time and time again he can still get the job done.  

Looking at the Angels’ bullpen, Kenley Jansen will have a real opportunity to become the primary closer. You’d imagine getting the role was probably a major part of his negotiations to sign with the Angels in the first place.

Ben Joyce had been projected for the role entering 2025, but that was before the acquisition of Jansen. Last season, Joyce appeared in 31 games, posting a 2.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and his famous 99th-percentile fastball velocity. In fact, he recorded the three fastest pitches in MLB last year. 

There is no doubt that Joyce could handle the ninth inning, as he is one of the nastiest relievers in all of baseball, and has the potential to be for some time. He’s also just 24 years old, with just over a year of service time under his belt, and only four MLB saves on his resume.

Joyce will have no issue being differential to a closer of Jansen’s pedigree, especially when you consider how much better it makes the Angels bullpen as a whole.

This will give Angels manager Ron Washington flexibility to leverage Joyce’s electric arm in high-leverage situations as needed, knowing he has the stability of Jansen to lock down the ninth-inning. 

Jansen made his mark and recorded his first 350 saves as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now he goes to the other side of town (more like the city 30 miles Southeast), in hopes of racking up some more saves in 2025.

How Many Saves Will Jansen Record with the Angels?

When looking back to Jansen’s path to 500 career saves, the first milestone to check off is passing up Hall of Famer Lee Smith for the third-most all-time. As mentioned earlier, Jansen is just 32 saves away and he’s coming off a season where he got within spitting distance of that with 27.

Jansen is only two years removed from leading the National League with 41 saves in a season, but that came when he was playing with the 101-win Atlanta Braves in 2022.

That’s the one thing that makes a closer chasing saves so fascinating, as their ability to perform the task is merely half of the battle. Playing with a Red Sox team that went 159-165 across the last two seasons, Jansen wasn’t able to cross that 30-save threshold in either season.

Still, 56 saves are not bad, as Jansen would clear 500 saves with room to spare if he can repeat that total over the next two seasons. The question is if he can keep that pace of 25+ saves a year now that he is moving to a team that only won 63 games last season.

Many believe the Angels are well overdue to become sellers and embrace a rebuild. This very well may be the case before the trade deadline, but their offseason moves suggest they believe differently.

No, they won’t be contending for a World Series in 2025, but they deserve credit for making additions that will allow them to remain competitive day in and day out. A willingness many other teams have yet to show.

Last season, the Angels closer until the trade deadline was Carlos Estevez, who notched 20 saves across 23 opportunities prior to being dealt. As a team, the Angels saved 35 games last year, with Ben Joyce and Luis Garcia getting most of the post-deadline chances, chipping in four saves apiece.

Sometimes bad teams win games close, so there is no telling how many save opportunities Jansen could receive in 2025. If all breaks right, Jansen may just end up clearing 33 saves this year to move past Smith and behind only Hoffman and Rivera on the all-time saves list.

Will Kenley Jansen Pitch Until He Gets to 500 Saves?

Unless the Angels pull off a season for the ages with Mike Trout, chances are that Kenley Jansen is at least two years away from reaching 500 saves.

The only thing standing in the way of Jansen getting there is “Father Time”, as well as the fact that he continues to downgrade in teams with every new home that he finds.

If Jansen was the primary closer for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025, there is every chance that he could notch 53 saves this season, as the Dodgers will more than double that total in the win column.

Playing for the other Los Angeles team is certainly more of an uphill battle, but one that will present its fair share of opportunities if he remains effective.

If Jansen is committed to pitching until he’s 40, and he continues to land jobs pitching the ninth inning, nothing is stopping him from becoming just the third player in MLB history to reach 500 saves. With three seasons left in his 30s, Jansen merely needs to average 18 saves a season to cross that threshold.

Getting there in two is certainly on the table though, which would allow Jansen to dream bigger, or hang them up sooner, knowing that his path to Cooperstown is firmly secured, even making the first ballot a possibility.

We will see where Jansen’s career goes next, but it is fun to dream about a guy who has consistently been excellent across a career that spans 15+ years and counting.