TODAY: Jansen’s deal with the Angels is now official, as is the club’s deal with Yoan Moncada. Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson were transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.
FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with Kenley Jansen on a one-year, $10MM contract. The Wasserman client will step into the closer’s role and give manager Ron Washington an established option in the ninth inning.
The 37-year-old Jansen is coming off yet another fine season of closing, having finished 38 games and tallied 27 saves for the 2024 Red Sox. He notched a 3.29 earned run average, fanned 28.4% of his opponents and posted a 9.2% walk rate in 54 2/3 frames during the second of his two years in Boston.
Those 27 saves pushed him up to 447 in his career, placing him fourth all-time behind Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith. Jansen isn’t going to run down Rivera (652) and Hoffman (601), but he’s 31 saves behind Smith’s 478 — a number that seems plenty attainable, perhaps even this year. Craig Kimbrel and his 440 saves aren’t far behind, but after last season’s struggles, it’s an open question whether Kimbrel will find his way back to regular closing work this year. Jansen, meanwhile, seems like a lock to serve as the Angels’ primary closer. He reportedly drew interest from other clubs with set ninth-inning options, including the Mets, but preferred to sign in a spot that afforded him more save opportunities.
Jansen isn’t the near-automatic ninth-inning powerhouse he was earlier in his career with the Dodgers, but he’s still sporting a 3.42 ERA over the past three seasons and has never turned in a single-season ERA worse than the 3.71 he logged during 2019’s juiced-ball campaign.
The 92.2 mph Jansen averaged on his cutter last year is right in line with his average mark from 2018-23, when he posted a combined 3.45 ERA and fanned just over 30% of his opponents. He allowed a career-high level of contact within the strike zone, but his 82.6% rate in that regard was still nearly three percentage points better than average — and Jansen still induced whiffs on pitches off the plate at a strong rate.
Even though Jansen isn’t an elite reliever anymore, he’s a very good one who should help to deepen a Halos bullpen that lacked experience. Lefties Brock Burke, Jose Quijada and Jose Suarez all have four-plus years of MLB service. No other Angels reliever had even two years of service, prior to today’s agreement with Jansen.
Flamethrowing righty Ben Joyce, MLB’s hardest-throwing pitcher, had been slated for closing duties with the Angels. He’ll now drop down to a setup role that allows him to gain some more experience while giving Washington the flexibility to use his most dynamic arm in the highest-leverage situations a game presents (without feeling tempted to “save” him for the ninth inning). Joyce, a 2022 third-rounder, averaged a comical 102.1 mph on his four-seamer last year and has run the pitch up to 105 mph at times.
As a rookie in 2023, Joyce walked nearly 19% of his opponents in a small sample of 10 innings. He made significant gains in 2024, pitching 34 2/3 big league innings with a 2.08 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. Joyce piled up grounders at a massive 58.9% clip and tallied four saves and eight holds. His 13.7% swinging-strike rate and unmatched velocity suggest there are more strikeouts in the tank as he continues to develop.
Jansen, Joyce and that previously mentioned trio of lefties will now anchor the Angel bullpen. Ryan Zeferjahn put himself in good position to win a spot this spring with a terrific 17-inning debut in 2024, but he’ll need to solidify that job during camp.
There’s a good chance the Angels will continue shopping in the relief market. They’ve reportedly been on the hunt for multiple bullpen arms, so they still feel there’s at least one spot that could yet be filled. It’s unlikely that any subsequent additions will be on the same eight-figure scale as Jansen, unless the Angels opt to double down on high-end, late-30s relievers and make a push for David Robertson. Regardless, general manager Perry Minasian should have the budget available to pursue just about any bullpen help he likes.
As things stand, the Angels project for a payroll just north of $202MM with roughly $220MM of luxury obligations, per RosterResource. That leaves them more than $10MM shy of the franchise record for Opening Day cash payroll and about $21MM shy of the $241MM luxury tax threshold.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Angels were signing Jansen. The Post’s Joel Sherman had the one-year, $10MM guarantee.
Well, at least he’s back in LA.
Yeah, but how many save opportunities is he going to get with the Angels?
more than if he’d signed with all those other teams that already have a good 9th inning guy! 😀
Bryan Harvey once got 46 saves on a 81-81 Angels team.
He can have a good year and sign with a good team nxt year like Estevez did. Oh, wait. He’s older than dirt.
I’d like to see you prove that statsitcally!
However many games they play the Mariners.
BlueSkies: Enough to log at least 25-30 saves.
BlueSkies_LA
I’d like to see you prove that statsitcally!
=======================
It’s not linear, but it is true. I’ve seen articles on it. There are two underlying issues.
1-On a weak (not bad) team, closers can save almost every game. Very few closers go B2B2B. A weak team will have far fewer 3+ game winning streaks.
2-The best and the worst teams seem to have more save opportunities. Clubbing teams to death, or quitting in the 5th inning yields less save opps. The sweet spot, imho, is 75-85 win teams.
FWIW, I almost never consider team record in drafting closers.
All those bad Padres teams in the 2000s with Hoffman racking up 40 plus saves are a good example of that Joe.
Well, at least he’s back in the LA metro area.
Fixed….
Well, close to it anyways.
He needs 32 saves to pass Lee Smith. Guess he’ll have to get 30 of those when he’s traded at the deadline.
* Anaheim
He is not. He’s not even in Los Angeles County. The team name was changed just for marketing purposes. It’s why I hope they lose and they have done plenty of that. They signed king Albert who is probably two years older than is reported. Josh Hamilton was a bust. They didn’t trade ohtani even though they could have gotten a good haul for him. As long as they screw up, I am happy.
Pathetic if you ask me
Its in the LA DMA. That is what is important.
Orange County*
I agree. If the New York Giants and the New York Jets can play their home games in New Jersey, then the LA Angels can play in Anaheim.
believeitornot: How has any of this harmed you to the point of irrational hatred?
Bitter much?
It’s Anaheim.
He actually signed with the Dodgers but was deferred to the Angels until 2026.
Not a bad signing by any team. Good for Jansen. Not sure if it makes a bit of a difference for the Angels’ winning prospects…
@trillionaire. They will win prospects at the deadline for him.
Single A prospects that will never make a difference.
You might want to look at the return they got for Carlos Estevez last trade deadline…
@dutch. Or the four prospects Boston gave up for garcia. Zeferjahn was one of the reasons why the bullpen was one of the best after the deadline.
A young pitcher who has already had Tommy John Surgery? lol
Walker Buehler’s 2018-2021 seasons have entered the chat
And now he’s an injury prone journeyman signing 1 year deals.
Who hasn’t had Tommy John surgery these days?
@Darren. He consistently gets into 50 to 60 games which is right about average and his ERA hasn’t been worse than 22% better than league average during the last 5 seasons. Why are you trying to make Jansen seem worse than he really is?
That would be just about every young pitcher today. They are having pre-emptive TJ surgery in high school now days.
Because Darren seems to have a stick squarely implanted in his nether regions and all he can do is troll. Spitting hate may be all he has left in life. Certainly no grasp of baseball there.
Hammerin’ Hank: Tommy John, for one.
@Rex if Arte doesn’t hold onto him like he did with Ohtani
@kewldude69. They didn’t trade ohtani because of the revenue he was bringing in. Kenley would’ve plenty of interest. Teams always look for bullpen help to make a playoff push. The only way he stays is if the angels are three games out from a wild card spot at the deadline.
*I knew people would interpret ‘winning prospects’ to mean player prospects. I meant the prospects of a team’s chances at success, not young players in development.
Solid move by the Angels. I wonder who they trade him to in July?
Interesting how Jansen made the All-Star Game last year in what was arguably the worst of his last 6 seasons.
Base – You’re looking at the wrong year. He made the All-Star Game in 2023, not last year.
And yeah he wasn’t that great in 2023, but they needed someone from the Red Sox to be an All-Star and he was a logical choice.
Yeah, I meant to say 2023 (still have 2024 as the current season in my head).
He had a decent year in 2023. It just struck me as interesting though, that was the only ASG appearance for him in the past 6 seasons and it happened to be his worst season in that time period.
base – Keep in mind the MLB All-Star Game is played in July, which means pitchers are named to the team in early July. So all you need to make the team is to have a good start to the season, which is why ASG appearances are kinda meaningless.
Kenley made the team because in the first half he was dominant with 19 saves and a 3.23 ERA in 31 innings.
After the ASG he suffered from nagging injuries and he was bad with only 10 saves and a 4.50 ERA in only 14 innings.
Yes, I do know that. Just an interesting fact that what was his worst season in the past 6 years was his lone ASG. Funny how that can happen.
2024 was similar. A 2.15 ERA at the ASB and then nagging shoulder injuries and a 5 ERA in the 2nd half. Those injuries are why Cora sent him home after the Sox were eliminated.
It was ‘23. The Red Sox had no one else to send!
Its good signing. they received 2 good prospects for Estevez and 4 long shot prospects for Luis Garcia last year. Decent return for both relievers for 2 month rentals.
I’m not excited about this signing especially if the plan is to slot him into the closer role.
Old – That’s not an “if”, that’s a definite.
He has career Save goals that are very important to him, which is why he turned down offers elsewhere to be a setup guy.
I wish him all the best.
“I’m comfortable if we go into the season with Ben Joyce as the closer,” manager Ron Washington said.
That was 9 days ago.
Base – In defense of Ron, he didn’t lie.
He said “if we go into the season with Ben Joyce as the closer” ….. nowhere does he indicate that Ben will be the closer.
Ben Joyce is the closer, Jansen is set up and insurance in case Joyce misses time or can’t pitch
SoCal – Not a chance. If Jansen is healthy and available to pitch, he’s the closer.
@fpg. Yeah he’s the closer til the deadline, and Stephenson should be back.
With the added benefit of keeping Joyce’s upcoming arb costs down. Fewer saves = cheaper
@rexhudler. Once Stephenson is back, there is a good chance this bullpen is suddenly one of the Angels strengths.
Agreed. Joyce has a great fastball but he doesn’t miss bats and can’t stay healthy. He’s not the closer, but he’s still a quality bullpen guy.
Not a bad move; a way of Wash easing Joyce into the closer role.
And let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves and already expecting to deal Jansen before the trade deadline. Pitchers and catchers are just about to report. A little time to experience the hope of spring (however short it may be) is not such an awful approach. There’s plenty of time for it to be dashed to pieces.
@61angels. I see it exactly the same way. I doubt the Angels are signing these guys thinking, oh we have trade chips for later in the season.
If the Angels aren’t in contention for even a wild card spot, that means most of these “trade chips” have under performed and really not worth a heck of a lot in trade value.
In theory it is fun to think about, but I can’t see getting anyone that moves the needle in return.
That being said……..I am excited for spring training this year. The Angels have some great internal competitions to watch.
dam – Kenley can also provide HOF-level mentoring to Joyce, that’s something the kid will utilize for the rest of his career.
@fpg. Plus he never did back 2 back days in his career. They started to do it towards the end of season, but I’m sure they will have some kind of workload restriction to ease him in.
@angelsfan1972. Pecota has them projected at 76 wins. Kenley should be able to get something decent. Zeferjahn for garcia looks good so far. I thought it was a quantity over quality trade. Plus lugo could be decent he was rated the highest in the deal. I’m just in the camp trade any expiring contracts for what you get. But agree if the angels are close arte will probably put perry on a trading freeze.
@rexhudler. I agree with trade what you can if they are out of contention. I am just saying I don’t agree with saying the Angels will a lot of trade bait, should they want to make trades at the dead line.
If they are out of contention, that means many of “the trade chips” people are referring to, have under performed, and won’t bring as much as people are implying.
Rex – Yeah most likely he will be flipped.
Rex – Great point, makes sense.
Did you watch Joyce pitch in the 2nd half? He added a new sinker grip in July and after that he was basically unhittable. He had an 0.83 ERA and a 41% whiff rate from late July through September after a 23% whiff rate the early part of the season. When players did make contact it was on the ground. 64.3% GB rate after the ASB. He was an elite RP the last 2 months.
The only knock on him is he has not yet shown he can grind out 60 appearances. Last season he had 49 between Rocket City and LA.
Fever- Wasn’t there some drama in the clubhouse with Jansen toward the end of last year. I thought something happened where he was acting like a prima Donna and was not very popular in the clubhouse. Could be wrong but something left me with a negative feeling about him.
It’s much like Detroit. They talk of contention, but every signing is a one year, we can trade them at the deadline deal, because the front office isn’t willing to show any confidence.
Uncle – Yes, definitely. They played a doubleheader the next to last Sunday of the season, Kenley pitched the first game despite it not being a save situation, and then he was done for the season and left the team.
He never spoke publicly about what happened, and all Cora said was that Kenley was dealing with some issues.
Without us knowing for certain what happened, I won’t form an opini0n.
Fpg, in his press conference after the first game of that final series vs the Rays Cora said he sent Jansen home and that was not until after they were eliminated on the 25th. The doubleheader was on the 22nd. Jansen made the trip to Toronto, he just didn’t pitch. Came out afterwards he was injured and had been since the All Star break.
Interesting, I was sure the Sox journalists made it out like Jansen bailed on the team or something like that and the other players were not happy. They were saying there was no way the Sox would bring him back after how things ended. Of course that was from Sox journalists and maybe not the most reliable, but I know it left me disappointed in Jansen. I don’t think I ever realized there was an injury involved.
Journalist write hit pieces based on a player’s unwillingness to play their game.
I don’t believe a word they write.
That is exactly what I read. The Red Sox could have used him this year since presently they have NO closer. He would have been a great fit. So obviously, they were unhappy with him.
It says Jansen is the closer and that’s why he picked them over the Mets
“Jansen, meanwhile, seems like a lock to serve as the Angels’ primary closer. He reportedly drew interest from other clubs with set ninth-inning options, including the Mets, but preferred to sign in a spot that afforded him more save opportunities.”
It says he preferred a spot that afforded him more save opportunities, not that he was guaranteed to be the closer. The key words are “seems” and “more”.
No manager would keep a HOF’r from his stats. He signed for the saves.
Nice. We need a veteran in the bullpen to lead the young guys. One who is active in the community is a huge plus.
Exactly!
Great signing.
I love that the Angels have gone after “been there, done that” kind of guys this off season. Help teach the younger players!.
I can’t wait to see who all chimes in hating this signing. There’s the complaints that the Angels need more relievers. I am sure someone will say “he’s too old” or he isn’t elite. Blah blah blah
It is a good signing. And their approach does kinda remind me of what the Royals did last year. Ya know, going after the “”been there, done that” kind of guys…””.
One difference; the anchor they r building around is old and struggles staying on the fields (Trout). The Royals anchor is young and healthy (Witt). Will see.
Best of luck Coach Washington.
@ C Yards I don’t think they are building around Trout. I think they are building around the young core, Neto, Schanuel, O’hoppe, and dare I say it , Adell. They also have a young core of pitchers, so it isn’t building around older vets, like Trout.
Okay, but the interesting thing is that Trout will still be under contract after Neto, Schanuel, O’Hoppe, and Adell have all left in free agency.
Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know what the future brings. but I doubt all 4 of those all will have left to free agency, possibly 2, but not all 4.
I still feel they are building around the young core.
It is just like Anthony Davis and the Mavs. No one can wish these guys into not getting hurt. Trout is going to get hurt this year. Its just how many times and when?
Interesting take AngelsFan1972. I hope you’re right. That said; I do lean towards JoeB’s counter take. Loved to see Mike T healthy all season. Fingers crossed.
Hopefully Trout stays healthy and they build the young group with him … not sure I’d have included Adell though (unfortunately). Maybe add Moore to the group instead.
Adell has to get to being at least average before he can be part of any core. He is a fringe player now. A 4th OF. AAA for most teams but Angels don’t have that luxury.
Matthew Lugo has a better chance of being an impact player than Adell.
I sure hope Moore develops the game power everyone says he has after crushing the ball with the metal bats in college. I just didn’t see it when we went to watch some Trash Pandas games. His exit velo was pedestrian.
AngelsFan1972
I still feel they are building around the young core.
======================
I agree, and think they should extend those guys, and with Adell, you know, play the guy a little more often.
But I just thought it was funny that the 32 year old Trout will still be an Angel after those guy are finished with their control years.
outinleftfield
His exit velo was pedestrian.
========================
I remember when he had those (2) two-homer games in quick succession, and some Angels fans were talking about bringing him up. He finished the year with -0- HRs in his last 69 ABs.
BB is a very humbling game.
I agree and I hope that you’re right. I’d add Christian Moore to that group. I’m not worried about the comment here from someone who saw him play a couple of times. As the saying goes, anecdotes are not data. MLB Pipeline rates him a 60 out of 80 for power. It will be interesting to see who they grab with the #2 draft pick this year. I hope it’s Jace Laviolette, but there’s growing talk that the Orioles will snag him at #1. But the Angels should get a good one nevertheless.
Oh you poor dear. Im so sorry they’ve hurt you.
The absolute LAST thing he’s interested in doing is helping teach younger players. He didn’t even know half the guys names on the Sox last year. As soon as they got eliminated from WC he packed up his stuff and told Cora he was going home. He doesn’t like bad teams.
Jtc, you have that backwards. Cora told him to go home. He had been nursing an injury since the ASB.
Wrong. Cora backtracked and said that to save face for him. He was a bad teammate his entire time in Boston.
Best was right. I posted the links.
@halosheavenjj. Now sign Graveman to a minor league deal.
@rexhedler That would be another nice one.
Love this pick up
Not bad
about time angels make a great signing !!!
They made a great signing with d’Arnaud as well. Going to miss him on the Braves
Nope. You underestimated your prowess.
Good signing. The division is winnable, but he’ll also be a solid trade option at the deadline if they’re not in the race.
“The division is winnable”
Yeah but not for the Halos.
Rendon could make a miracle recovery and help the halos out.
He is a payroll bandit. The guy cant hit. He is washed up years ago. If he was to get lucky and walk he would probably pull something walking to first base.
The miracle recovery he could make would be his honor and what he could do to help the Angels is negotiate a retirement that saves them his 2026 salary.
The only way the division is even remotely winnable for the Halos is if someone follows Mike Trout all season with duct tape and gorilla glue. That dude needs to stay off the IL for any remote chance of the playoffs.
He typically made Sox fans bite their nails the last two seasons and the way he left, good riddance. Also, a closer’s ERA should be well below 3.00 if you’re elite.
ERA is more important for starters. He’s obviously not elite anymore, but still good enough to pitch high leverage innings and close.
He’s a prima donna well past his sell date.
He certainly can still pitch but $10m?
Wrap him in bubble wrap during games. Make sure that he is hydrated and stretches every muscle possible.
He can mentor the up and coming elite closer the Angels already have.
dewey: “The way he left” was by becoming a free agent. Why do you have a problem with that?
PKCasmir: How does being a free agent make someone a prima donna?
Yes $10m considering jose leclerc got the same exact contract. 1 yr $10m. Even in this late stage of his career he’s miles ahead of leclerc, and if the a’s seen it right to give him $10m then the angels definitely see it right in giving Jansen $10m as well!
You act like it’s your money the Angels are spending
Or Anthony Rendon decides maybe he doesn’t mind playing baseball after all and channels 2019.
Blue Baron
dewey: “The way he left” was by becoming a free agent. Why do you have a problem with that?
=====================
He talked a bit too much. Not so much last year as the prior year. He was complaining about the lack of deadline acquisitions, and all I could think of was that the players were kind of under-performing.
And he disappeared the past two Septembers. Still a good pickup for the Angels, imo.
Blue, unless there’s more to the story, he cleared out his locker and left before the deal ended.
Did they make the playoffs when he was healthy?
I read that Cora was ok with it but he probably was just protecting “his player” as before that came out there were articles that other players were not happy with what Jansen did.
He left because our manager said he should go. He had been nursing a shoulder injury since the ASG and Cora told him to go home once we were eliminated on the 25th.
Cora knew he was a free agent after the season and that the Red Sox had no intention of bringing him back. Instead of having him continue to pitch and risk further injury in meaningless games he sent him home. Class move.
Blue, Cora sent him home with one series to go after Red Sox were eliminated on Sept 25th.
Cora said that he sent Jansen home after we were eliminated on the 25th. NESN had an article. MLB.com had a video of Cora’s interview about it. There was an article on the Globe.
bets he negotiated that contract so he gets every possible save chance trying to get third on the list or manager gets fired.
Wren: I seriously doubt that’s legal.
was being a bit facetious but wouldn’t be surprised if there was a handshake agreement. the days of one guy being the man are over but not if you ask him.
He literally left early, before the season ended, disappeared.
@lucky
“”Me and (Alex Cora) have a conversation and I think we both agreed,” Jansen told Bradford, as transcribed by Sports Illustrated. “Of course, I had been dealing with my shoulder the last couple of weeks of inflammation and all that so that’s what it was. It’s nothing big. We came to an agreement that I think was best to put me on the (IL) to let that shoulder recover and that’s pretty much it. And when we got eliminated they agreed that I could go home. No biggie.””
so he sits on the bench wasting a spot in meaningless games or give a kid a taste of the major league and/or someone a chance to get a little closing experience. It makes perfect sense to me since they were not bringing him back.
He quit on the team. He was hated by his teammates. Red Sox would have re-signed him and used him as closer again if he had been a decent human being. To the Angels: Good luck with this quitter.
Bull.
That’s the “official” line. Red Sox could have used him this year. They want no part of him. Ask his teammates.
wrongway2011: Right, like you or any of us knows what went on behind closed doors in a MLB clubhouse. As if.
Wrongway, you have certainly taken the wrong way in life. Lying and hatred are both sins. Stop being such a bad human being.
What do you mean, if?
If?
“playoffs?”
Jansen has faced alot of adversity in his career. Hopefully he can stay healthy all year, take turns closing with Joyce, be a good Clubhouse presence and share some of his knowledge with the young team, similar to how Estévez was last year! This team has a lot to prove, and show the hunger to win. They need to shut up all the talking trash about the Angels that they are not a joke.
At least it’s an opportunity to continue Closing. How many chances he actually gets is another thing entirely…
He’s not closing in Anaheim unless Ben Joyce is hurt.
Well, with how he throws at 104mph, it’s when.
Joyce doesn’t miss bats and is not particularly good at throwing strikes.
He does keep the ball on the ground.
Joyce won’t be the closer.
I hear what you are saying, but Joyce grew a lot as a pitcher last year. I would hope he grows even more this year, and the missed bats issue goes away.
I disagree that Joyce can’t be a quality close someday. I think he has the tools to become one.
0.83 ERA from the time he learned new sinker grip to end of season. Elite whiff rate and elite GB rate in those last 13 appearances. Joyce will be the Angels closer soon. Its only a matter of time. Paying Jansen $10 million to close when their rotation is in tatters is confusing. Are the signing Heaney and Quintana in next couple of days? If not, no reason for the expenditure on Jansen.
Baseballisthebest
0.83 ERA from the time he learned new sinker grip to end of season. Elite whiff rate and elite GB rate in those last 13 appearances.
==========================
A 2.03/3.17 ERA/FIP in his last 13 games, with only 14 Ks in 13.1 IPs.
I was wrong about when he started throwing it. mlb.com/news/ben-joyce-on-adding-a-splinker-to-his… His ERA from that point through the end of the season was 0.83.
Just so you know, whiff rate is not strike outs. Its the number of swing and misses as a percentage of total swings.
He’ll end up closing. You don’t sign a guy with 400+ saves to pitch the 7th…
You also don’t pay a set-up man $10 mil….
Jansen ain’t signing with the Angels unless he’s guaranteed the closer job. Otherwise, he wudda signed with a contender….
Yep, he’s closing. No matter how much it hurts my last draft-and-hold fantasy team where I took Joyce, lol
Decent chance Joyce is the closer in the second half. I like looking for 2nd half type of players.
When you look at how much Jansen faded in the 2nd half the last two seasons for the Sox, that is a really good assumption.
No idea what my dbacks are doing for a closer
Puk and Martinez are decent. Maybe they can hold off until the deadline and acquire a Helsley or someone else (perhaps even Jansen) if/when teams look to 26
Puk is to valuable to only have in the 9th, Martinez had so many inconsistent moments. I think getting a veteran to help ease them is the bwst choice. Maybe they get Finnegan or Robertson
Ginkel or Puk, maybe?
Might go down two of the rarest surnames in MLB history to record 30+ saves in a season.
Go down *as*
Puk is more valuable in whatever inning has the power Lefties. Ginkel looked bad last year and is bettwr in the 8th. I think just a veteran would be perfect. Maybe Robertson.
I for one had Jansen as a possibility, but now I am thinking maybe the D’Backs are going to look to the trade market for sure, depending how the ST pitching works out, don’t see Martinez or Puk but maybe outside the box you are looking at Drey Jameson, I remember Hazen said awhile back that Jameson in the future could be a closer candidate until his TJ surgery.
desertdawg
I agree that Jameson might be the answer so why block him?
The only trade the Dbacks should consider is for a young closer with multiple years, like Miller. The Cards closer is just another 1 year rental at the sacrifice of way too much prospect potential. I’d only trade prospect potential for Closers with multiple years of control.
Taker
I’m actually glad the Dbacks didn’t spend another $10M on a 1 year deal for a guy who is not a clear upgrade over Martinez or Ginkel, the right handers, but instead blocks their development.
I kind of wonder if the fact that Jansen basically can’t even make the trips to Denver during the season has kept NL west teams from showing any real interest
That would likely be true a few years ago before schedules were more balanced.
The Rockies will host AZ twice, a 3 game series in mid-June and a 4 game series in mid-August
Will take several yrs
But Jansen is HOFer
agreed. nearly 450 saves (and counting) and a career whip under 1. i feel like he’s a little bit underrated
This signing is such an Angels move.
Ben Joyce TJ already?
Nope, he’s healthy. Just signing experienced bullpen arms.
I guess it won’t hurt Ben Joyce to sit under his learning tree for a year.
Good for Kenley!
Dude is still a viable closer, he’s a great addition for the Angels. He’s definitely on his way to 500 saves.
He’s still 53 away. Certainly possible, but at this stage in his career it’s hardly a given. Hope he makes it, though.
Well, he’ll probably get a LOT of opportunities on the halos.
Not a bad move by Angels, if he stays healthy and productive. Come around July 31st he could bring some value in a return. Solid B grade move.
Well maybe the Halos will be competitive this year?
More like Jansen is a great addition to bring in more prospects at the trade deadline. They desperately need to rebuild their farm system.
It’s a typical move for them: make a half-hearted attempt at being competitive then, once that predictability doesn’t work out, they’ll trade him.
It’s a great move by the Angels. Joyce doesn’t miss bats, and can’t stay healthy.
However, if Joyce doesn’t stay healthy, Stephenson comes back, and Jansen doesn’t take a step back, the back end of this pen could be very good.
@halo11fan. He was missing bats when he cameback with a splinker. It’s possible teams might’ve enough tape to figure him out.
Still wouldn’t mind adding graveman on a minor league deal. Been out with TJ for two years, that’s around the time frame to recover fully. I don’t want quijada or saurez in the pen.
Rex, i don’t see that in the data. He’s a strikeout an inning guy. Nothing wrong with that, nothing special either.
I’m thrilled with him in the bullpen. But more for his ability to keep the ball on the ground and his soft contact numbers than his ability to miss bats.
@Halo11
I have said it before, put down the spread sheets and enjoy the game. LOL
Not everything is defined by Fanfgraphs or Statcast.
Ha ha ha.
Just giving you are hard time. Welcome back. I missed our differing point of views.
I do enjoy the game, and everything is defined on a stat cast page. 99 loses is on a statistics page.
And knowing the peripherals helps me enjoy the game. And if the peripherals are good, I know the results will generally follow. If they are bad, then failure will generally follow.
If you don’t see it in the data it’s because you don’t know how to look at it. 41% whiff rate in August and September. Started throwing that new sinker in last appearance of July and has 0.83 ERA with 64% GB rate from that point on.
The problem is, you don’t know the peripherals. You looked at annual stats and missed what happened in the games in the 2nd half.
Did I?
June 11IP 10Ks
July 11IP 9Ks
Aug 10IP 11Ks
Sept 2 IP 3Ks.
You’re right I don’t.
Help me out with where I can find the data. And as noted above, I believe I wrote I can’t find the data to back it up.
And we are talking 13 IPs? It would be interesting to breakdown the opponents. .
Proving you don’t even know what data to look at.
Started throwing that new sinker in last appearance of July and has 0.83 ERA with 64% GB rate from that point on.
=======================
2.03/3.17 ERA/FIP including the last game in July.
I was wrong about when he started throwing the “splinker”. It was June 16th. His ERA and GB rate from that point through the end of the season are correct. As is his 41% whiff rate in August and September. Whiff rate is not strike outs, its the percentage of swing and misses out of total swings.
Whiff rate is not strike outs, it’s the percentage of swing and misses of the total swings.
Answered that above.
Yes, wife rate is not K rate. Where do I find whiff rate after a specific date.
Rexhudler86 – My memory of Joyce is that he improved both his missed bats and walks after his first couple of appearances. I have not seen the numbers for 24, but at very least he has been developing very quickly for someone that has very few minor league or even college or high school experience.
I like Quijada by the way, He has that ghost ability where the best hitters cannot square him up like Freeman and Ohtani. Reminds me of Ernesto Frieri.
@tim Stewart. That’s why I didn’t respond. Early in the season. He wasn’t missing at bats because they were sitting on his fastball. He needed another pitch. He was lights out after he started to use his sinker. Halo11fan doesn’t like Joyce. He said it was a bad pick by perry my guess is he’s going to change his tune.
“My Memory”
Without looking at a spreadsheet, a human being is incapable of discerning the difference of a 255 vs 280 by observation alone. That’s 1 hit every two weeks.
I don’t pay much stock to even the most ardent baseball fans ability to analyze performance without backing it up with data.
@rexhudler, Seems Halo isn’t changing his tune.
and he’s baaa aack. LOL
I am capable of reading and deciphering Statcast and Fangraphs, and Baseball Reference. Just because I don’t feel the need to regurgitate what SOMEONE else tabulated for me, it doesn’t mean I (we) don’t understand the game.
Someone else is formulating all of your opinions, or as you say “facts” for you. You are simply reading them off the pages.
The simple truth is you don’t know 100% how the season will play out. Adell may break out and hit 50 HRs, Trout and Rendon may play the entire season. The stat pages you read are stats from the past, and yes, you can assume somewhat predicting of “what may be”, but nothing is certain.
If it was 2021, you would not have predicted Trout and Rendon would injury prone, based off of what Statcast said.
Jansen could be to Joyce, what Percy was to KRod. A seasoned vet to help teach the youngsters how to handle both good and bad situations. A lot of people are only concerned with the bad, but over reacting to a good situation could be just as detrimental. Jansen has been in the league long enough and had to go from team to team, I am sure he is well equipped to be a good secondary coach.
Or what Lee Smith was to Percival, if you want to go back further.
Exactly. That is an even better example.
Arte has finally seen that light that pitching can help win ballgames and sell tickets too.
Congrats Angels fans!
Maybe they’ll start playing “California Love” when he comes into games again.
While he’s no longer in his prime, he’s still a good pitcher, not mediocre at all unless his decline phase takes a really sharp dive this year.
It’s going to be odd to watch him in an Angels uniform.
But this is a great signing for both of them. He is chasing down 500 saves. He won’t get there this season, but he’ll have the opportunity to close. Angels get a veteran guy to help mentor their young bullpen and ease the burden. He’s also a tradeable chip (when the Angels are eventually out of it).
$10 million is a second-division closer? Inflation is rough.
But who’s gonna play 3B?
@psycho. I am sure you’re “being funny” ,but I will reply.
3b is an open competition for about 4-7 players this spring. The Angels will be just fine there.
I doubt the Angels will be fine at any infield position. Every infielder has huge warts.
Neto is coming off shoulder surgery, had a 10 percent rage factor, and I’m not sold on him.
But there are enough bodies to fill a team. But I have no idea what this infield will look like May 1st.
They have enough depth. They will be fine
U believe Halos will have someone at 3B who will give at least average MLB production? Interesting take.
Psycguy.
No. I don’t believe any infield position will have an above average fWAR respective to their position.
Well apparently ZIPS has an “interesting take” too.
ZIPS has Moncada at wRC+ of 104, same as Josh Jung.
I believe I was asking for just league average. Not a black hole like it’s been.
I think there are enough pieces that I don’t think they’ll be black holes.
Maybe third base. It depends how healthy Rendon and Moncada are.
And it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Anderson and Neto fill the keystone positions and Rengifo plays third.
They’d have to be really unlucky to not have a big league infield.
The article speaks to lack of experience in the bullpen, but forgot to consider that they also have Robert Stevenson who is projected to be activated in May. If Hendricks or Anderson don’t deliver I can see Dana or Kochanawicz taking that 5th spot and one of them in the bullpen. The Jansen addition was definitely needed.
Robert Louis Stevensen is activated in May; Cool!!; or Robert Stephenson Baseball pitcher.
First one is was only worth 33 million over 3 years
Spending money just to spend money at this point.
Spending money to make games more enjoyable is not spending money for the sake of spending money.
Nothing breaks a teams moral faster, or causes fans to lose sleep, than having a bad back of the bullpen.
As far as saves are concerned, bad teams get almost as many opportunities as good teams.
DarrenDreifortsContract
I got one for you what about the Dodgers spending money so are the Dodgers paying that much money just because what he did in the World Series let’s see if he lives up to that contract or a bust
I say Dodgers overpaid
Tommy Edman signed a 5 year, $74,000,000 contract
Trade deadline call- straight from Moneyball: “get Dave Dombrowski on the line…”
Not gunna have a plethora of save opps with Anaheim. Tho, prolly the best gig he could get…
Game over
I like it. Going with Joyce would’ve been fine, but using Joyce as the setup behind a reliable Jansen also works. He broke down in September the past two years, but has otherwise been pretty reliable.
This one is baffling. Why? How many close games with a lead will the Angels be in this year? Why spend on a closer when the rotation is bad?
You’re right, why try to be better. Screw it!
Is Jansen the Jimmy Butler of the MLB?
I’m a Dodgers fan living in OC. I hope he gets a shot at 500 this year, and I hope it’s at home. I’ll for sure be at that game if he does.
@derall I hope he gets it against the Dodgers!
August 11.12 or 13th.
If he is close around those dates, the stadium would be packed!.
That would be pretty wild, wouldn’t it? Unlike most Dodgers fans, I’m a pretty big Angels fan too. The Angels didn’t have Vin Scully when I was growing up.
The Angels didn’t have the longevity of Vin Scully, but they have their fair share of “game callers”. Dick Enberg, Dave Niehaus, Rory Markus and Terry Smith.
Terry Smith is getting right up there with the greats, in my opinion.
Nope
Don Wells in the beginning .
Oh for sure they did. But Vin was the best. He was the difference for me.
Here is a quiz for you 72. The Angels had two more Hall of Fame announcers work for them. Who were they?
I love quiz questions
I know one for certain was Don Drysdale. I know that because we had a family friend who knew his wife, so had got to meet him a few times.
Is the 2nd Joe Garagiola. I think he briefly called games for them.
Don Drysdale and Sparky Anderson?
YES. I forgot Sparky!!He called games after he was the Tigers manager.
Don’t forget Joe Torre he called games in the late 80s
I think we are up to 3 HOFers
@Halo11
What 2 HOFers were you referencing in your quiz?
Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Sparky Anderson, Joe Torre, Don Drysdale have all been Angel announcers. That is 5 Hall of Famers.
I had no idea…. enlighten me on Reggie and Harmon.
The other three were under contract for a few seasons and called more than onsie, twosie games. I know that for certain.
If we want to get technical, Dick Enberg is in as well. This is kind of a fun list.
Last minute 6 for 2 Blockbuster between the Angels and Phillies in coming? The Delaware Valley is encapsulated in joy right now, with a parade down Broad Street scheduled for this Friday. Mike Trout will be there and I think they’re going to convince him to stay.
Angels acquire:
Taijuan Walker RHP (2/37)
Johan Rojas CF (pre arb)
Michael Mercado RHP (#18)
Mick Abel RHP (#6)
Otto Kemp 2B (#21)
Jared Thomas C (#45)
Phillies acquire:
Mike Trout (6/218)
Ben Joyce (pre arb)
Walker offsets some of Trout’s contract and gives the Angels their #5 starter. Joyce gets an opportunity to close in Philly. Angels get long term salary relief and everybody is happy. Including everyone in MLB, or anyone that loves the game. To see Trout actually play meaningful games in the post season.
@ac. They won’t trade Joyce, and trout doesn’t want to leave
What R U smoking? Your farm is ranked 26th out of 30 and U propose to give the Angels Walker’s horrible under water contract and 4 scrubs from your weak farm? You think we would give U R best pitching prospect and future HOF’er Mike Trout! Nobody wants anything to do with Tuijuan and none of the rest R even a top 100 MLB prospect! Get real seriously!
You can’t possibly expect the Angels to actually make this trade, can you? Even if the Angels wanted to trade Trout for salary relief, they’re not going to include Ben Joyce for the junk you’re listing her. Abel and Mercado both have FV 40. Kemp doesn’t even make Fangraphs top 30 Phillies prospects, and Pipeline rates him FV 40 also. These guys add nothing to the Angels farm system except quantity.
Better at least throw in Bohm and Kerkering.
Hopefully he can play well enough to get some type of meaningful return at the deadline.
All the help Mike trouts gonna get. SMH
somebody has to motive trout to want to be here. This his ain’t it and it certainly won’t ever be rates either.
Thief of joy
you can’t be that insecure can you?
Mike Trout sure is with his faith in the front office. Absolutely.
This doesn’t stink.
A clubhouse like that can benefit from someone who has actually been on good teams. They don’t have to look to Trout now.
Remember the 02 angels
That was a fun team to watch.
Pepperidge farm remembers
“The bright side is that you’ll get home from the games a lot faster from Anaheim than you would from Dodger Stadium.” Kenley’s Agent
ChiSox or Angels?
Pete Rose is innocent Fry Ohtani
You’re so negative you should try to be more respectful. You’re so angry. I hope everything is OK at home.
He is a turd. Left the Sox before end of year. So get ready Angel fans when are you eliminated on Sept 2 he will bounce to rest his achy back. Guys a clown well unless he is close to getting those saves he could hang out.
Cora said that he told Jansen to go home. nesn.com/2024/09/alex-cora-addresses-report-about-… A few days after that Cora said that Jansen had been injured since the ASB and had refused to go on the IL so once they were eliminated he put him on the IL and told him to go home. . You may be a very knowledgeable fan, but I am going to go with the explanation the manager gave.
This is an example of a typical Boston fan attitude. Anybody who can’t play with two broken arms and two broken legs is a bum, and by definition, unworthy of playing pro sports in their fair city. And whatever you do, don’t mention the weather. They’re really touchy about that too.
Hey! Our weather is perfect for 4 months out of the year! Don’t you be dissing Boston weather just because you live in LA.
I live elsewhere in SoCal, but still I don’t brag on the weather especially when the entire place seems to be burning down. But for sure some people in SoCal believe they created the weather the way New Yorkers created the Metropolitan Opera. This comes from an East Coaster who moved to the West and still thinks Boston fans are pretty weird.
Thank you! I was searching for that article and couldn’t find it. Glad you have a better Google game than I do.
A 37 y.o. pitcher with name recognition and some following in So. Cal.? Of course the Angels signed him.
Really surprised that the Rangers would rather take a risk with no established closer than sign this guy, tbh. Sure, he’s not as good as he used to be, but it’s gotta be better than having Gray close, like some analysts have been speculating.
Agree with your assessment. It’s not like the Rangers can’t use Gray’s innings in the rotation. If they do attempt to use him to close and the experiment fails, then Gray will need to be stretched back out again.
Guess he gave up on his saves goal haha
I’m telling you right now…if you think Kenley has a pot to piss in this season let me explain it you straight in a language you can understand:
众佛池木须嘎数。前几天我真的去了加油站，买了卫生纸。
愿天堂鸟飞进你的鼻子
I am glad you were able to find toilet paper at the gas station. It may get scarce with these tariffs.
坐在马桶上时，别再和你玩了，小家伙
What if you’re a bad speller in that language? Wonder how that works. Or have bad penmanship
Maybe shouldn’t have been such a d-bag on his way out of Boston. At least he can go watch the Dodgers games on off days now.
Glad to see that Perry has emerged from winter hibernation.
Now that Perry is awake again, maybe he can sign Bregman and Pivetta.
Or maybe he shouldn’t.
Signing both players would cost the Angels their 2nd & 3rd round draft picks.
AND they would lose $500K from their international signing pool.
No to Pivetta. Would love Bregman, but we have two 3B now and I doubt either starts 60 games and Rendon has 2 years loft on that God awful deal. Bregman is a year too early for us.
4 days later and we have 1 3B and I doubt he starts 60 games.
Angels get dumped on for not signing guys, Angels getting dumped on for signing guys. It’s VERY easy to correct and pick 29 non world series winners.
F-ing A! That is SWEET! Now can we get an actual pitching staff so there are saves to be made?
Seriously. Joyce would have been a good closer but having a HOF closer as his mentor for a season will make him even better. This is the kind of signing I was hoping for when the offseason began.
now sign Heaney to a 3 year deal and let’s see if this team can stay healthy long enough to be fighting for .500 come September.
Heaney won’t come back to the Angels.
If the money is right he will.
Joyce and Jansen closer firm
Gonna win 20 more games in 2025
Mahomes sure threw the game.
Wow
As a reliever, KJ is your universal indexed life insurance policy to the S&P 500,: while everyone else is volatile, He stays healthy and locked down.
Will the Angels even have 30 save opportunities?
There goes another Dbacks closer opportunity. Starting to get less opportunity for one
With a few games left in the season, Jansen can declare that he just pitched his final game and clean out his locker before the season ends
10 years too late Arturo. Oh well.
What they gave Ron Washington a wash up closer that nice for his last year as manager this GM a loser love be a angels fan we can’t win anymore
Kenley still has a house in LA, so I’m sure he’s happy with this. And for those that don’t know, LA is basically an hour drive north from Anaheim (with no traffic, of course).
Create more success
Take care California softy
What more do you want
Two closers now
Perry has done a lot, with arte this off season
Heck, I like Carter kieboom at 3rd
They deep this year
No excuse this year. One gets hurt, the other steps in
Everything will go the halo way this year
There will be win streaks
There will be win streaks
They will get off to a roaring start
All is forgiven, for arte and staff
Tim Anderson can still hit
So can darnaud
Trout will play 100 games
Don’t worry Jensen will leave the team in August
Hopefully he leaves the team in September or whenever they’re mathematically eliminated whichever comes first. I liked him quite a bit last year until it became obvious he wasn’t fully invested in the team. Not enough has been made of players quitting on their teams. It seems to be happening more and more and in football too
Nice signing. Now re-sign Ron Washington. He was the best member of the Angels last year.
I thought he was hunting saves?
Should help the Angels win the 2025 MLB World Series.
2025 World Series champs
Why? Timing.
He quit on his team and abandoned them before the season was over. Hes a selfish prima donna who openly expressed his desire to end his career with LAD while still playing for Boston. Awful clubhouse guy. 10 mil is an overpay. Good riddance.
sportingnews.com/us/mlb/boston-red-sox/news/red-so…
Looks like a 100 loss season coming.
Hopefully he is able to teach Joyce some savvy tricks to have a long career and maintain his health. Maybe Joyce will learn the cutter.
The Angels are signing several older, broken down versions of ex-good players, hoping they will rebound and have career seasons. Hope it works.
They’ll trade Jansen at the deadline, and hope Joyce is ready to close at that point.
“Meanwhile” has to start the sentence, not come in the middle between commas.
Angels team and fans will keep him from any good trade return at deadline because team, owner and fans all suck