Jansen (illness) made a scoreless appearance Monday versus Atlanta during Grapefruit League play during his return to action.
Jansen loaded the bases on a hit and a couple walks but was able to escape unscathed by inducing an inning-ending double-play ball. The closer had exited his previous appearance due to lightheadedness, but he's fine now and will be ready to roll on Opening Day.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Expected to pitch Monday
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Jansen (illness) is expected to pitch Monday against Atlanta, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Jansen was removed from Friday's Grapefruit League appearance after experiencing lightheadedness and dizzy spells, but he's back at the ballpark before Sunday's Grapefruit League finale. The right-hander looks to be ready for Opening Day and will likely be ready to be called upon for save chances to begin the 2023 campaign.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Feeling better Saturday
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Jansen (lightheadedness) said he expects to pitch in Sunday's Grapefruit League game, Sean McAdam of BostonSportsJournal.com reports.
He left Friday's exhibition game with a trainer after feeling lightheaded, but Jansen reported improvement Saturday and said he does not believe the issue is related to his heart condition (atrial fibrillation). The longtime closer suggested it may have just been dehydration, per Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican. So long as Jansen returns Sunday or early next week, he should be in the clear for Opening Day.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Felt lightheaded before exit
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters that Jansen felt "lightheaded" before leaving Friday's appearance against Atlanta, but he should be fine going forward, Tom Caron of NESN reports.
Jansen left Friday's appearance with a trainer, and he immediately went to the Boston clubhouse. It's a concerning development for anyone, but it's especially worrisome for the 35-year-old because of his history with atrial fibrillation. Fortunately, this exit appears to be precautionary with Cora believing that the right-hander should be OK going forward. Jansen may be held out of action for the next couple days, but it appears that he might be fine for the regular season.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Leaves game with trainer
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Jansen left Friday's Grapefruit League appearance against Atlanta with a trainer, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Jansen went directly into the clubhouse after exiting the appearance. The right-hander is likely to undergo testing, and there should be an update on his status before the end of Friday's game. This would be a significant loss for Boston after they signed Jansen to serve as the closer for the 2023 season.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Throws live batting practice
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Jansen (illness) threw 17 pitches to live hitters Thursday in Red Sox camp, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
Jansen missed a scheduled Grapefruit League appearance earlier this week because he wasn't feeling well, but he's scheduled to return to exhibition action Saturday and could join Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic if they advance out of their group. The veteran reliever is slated to serve as Boston's primary closer in 2023.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Could join WBC in quarterfinals
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Jansen is expected to join Team Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic if the club advances, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Jansen is still in spring training with Boston and just made his spring debut with the Red Sox on Monday. The long-time closer will remain in Florida as an option for the Grapefruit League, but he could be a late-inning option in the WBC if Team Netherlands advances. Jansen is coming off a 2022 campaign in which he recorded 41 saves along with a 3.38 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 64 innings in 65 appearances.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Makes spring debut
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Jansen pitched a scoreless inning in Saturday's spring game against the Astros.
Jansen made quick work of the Astros in his Grapefruit League debut, setting down the side in order. Most notably, he easily beat the pitch clock on all 14 of his pitches, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. Jansen is notorious for his slow pace, averaging 25.6 seconds between pitches with the bases empty and 31.4 seconds with runners on last season. He vowed the new pitch clock would not be an issue for him, saying he's been working on it since December. The right-hander noted that his slow pace was a product of the environment and throwing in high-pressurized situations. The real test for Boston's closer comes during the regular season when those high-pressure situations become the norm.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Throws bullpen with timer
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Jansen threw a bullpen session Sunday and was on time in his delivery, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Jansen is one of the slowest pitchers in the league, so he'll have to adjust to the new rule that pitchers must begin their delivery within 15 seconds with the bases empty (20 second with runners on). He had the third slowest tempo (25.6 seconds) between pitches last year.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Behind due to offseason illness
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Jansen is a bit behind in Red Sox camp due to an offseason illness, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Jansen had to put a pause on his winter workouts because he and his family got sick. However, there's plenty of time for the veteran reliever to play catch-up and be at or near 100 percent come Opening Day. He inked a two-year, $32 million free-agent contract with Boston in December and projects to serve as the club's primary closer in 2023.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Contract with Boston official
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Jansen's two-year, $32 million contract with the Red Sox was formally announced by the team Tuesday.
The deal was first reported last week and Jansen was officially introduced at a press conference Tuesday. The longtime closer will slide into the ninth inning for Boston, with the hope that he'll provide more stability than the club had in 2022.
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Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Catches on with Boston
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Jansen and the Red Sox agreed Wednesday on a two-year, $32 million contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Even though the 35-year-old Jansen is on the downslope of his career, he remained a solid closer in 2022 with Atlanta, converting 41 of 48 save chances while posting a 3.38 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 85:22 K:BB in 64 innings. He'll now add some stability to the back end of the Boston bullpen, after the Red Sox had mostly taken a committee approach to the ninth inning last season. Jansen's contract and ample experience as a closer -- he'll enter 2023 with 391 career saves -- means he should have a decent amount of leash as Boston's ninth-inning man even if he endures some early struggles.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Notches 41st save
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Jansen pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two batters on his way to a save in Tuesday's 2-1 victory against the Marlins.
Tasked with protecting a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jansen retired the Marlins in order while striking out two batters. The save was his 41st of the campaign and the closer has now converted eight straight save opportunities. Since Sept. 13, Jansen has posted a 0.82 ERA and 0.55 WHIP with 16 strikeouts over 11 innings in 11 appearances while going 8-for-8 in save chances.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Notches third save of weekend
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Jansen saved Sunday's 5-3 win against the Mets, tossing a perfect ninth inning.
With Atlanta possessing a tight lead over their divisional rivals for the third straight night, manager Brian Snitker turned to Jansen, who once again delivered. The 35-year-old recorded three quick outs on seven pitches -- all of them strikes -- and has now converted seven straight save opportunities, permitting just one earned run while striking out 14 during the 10-inning stretch. Jansen reached 40 saves for the fourth time in his career and first since 2017, and he ranks one behind Emmanuel Clase for the MLB lead.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Strikes out two for save
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Jansen picked up the save Saturday against the Mets, allowing no runs on no hits while striking out two and walking none over one inning.
Jansen now has saves in back-to-back appearances and in six of his last eight appearances. The veteran is one save shy of tying Emmanuel Clase for the most in baseball. Jansen needed just 11 pitches to finish out the game Saturday, lowering his ERA to 3.48 in the process.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Strikes out three for save
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Jansen picked up the save Friday against the Mets, allowing a walk and a hit while striking out three in a scoreless inning.
Jansen picked up his 38th save Friday, the second-most saves in baseball this season. He allowed two baserunners and needed 24 pitches, 15 of which were strikes, to get the job done. After allowing two runs in an outing on Sep. 11 that ballooned his ERA to 3.91, the veteran has steadily lowered it to where it sits now at 3.54.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Earns 37th save
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Jansen did not allow a baserunner and struck out one over a scoreless inning of work to earn the save in a 6-3 victory over the Phillies on Saturday.
It was business as usual for Jansen, who made quick work of the Phillies on 12 pitches, 10 of which he threw for strikes. He ended the game emphatically with a high heater that caused Bryson Stott to go around with an off-balance swing. Jansen now has 37 saves, second most in all of MLB behind only Emmanuel Clase.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Holds on for 36th save
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Jansen earned a save after he pitched one inning, surrendering an unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out two in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals.
Jansen was called upon to protect a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth, but quickly ran into trouble. The first two batters he faced reached base before he registered two strikeouts in a row, but a two-out Luis Garcia singled scored a run. After an intentional walk to Joey Meneses, Jansen was able to get Luke Voit to fly out to end the contest, earning his 36th save of the year. The 34-year-old has pitched four straight scoreless appearances since he blew a save and got the loss Sept. 11 against the Mariners. Jansen now owns a 3.63 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 75 punchouts over 57 innings in 58 appearances while going 36-for-43 in save opportunities this year.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Notches 35th save
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Jansen struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Monday to record his 35th save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Nationals.
There has been chatter recently that Raisel Iglesias might bump Jansen from his closer role, but that hasn't come to pass as Iglesias worked the eighth Monday and collected his 11th hold, while Jansen reeled in his second straight save and fifth in seven September chances. The 34-year-old's 3.68 ERA on the month might be fueling the speculation, but it comes with a 0.82 WHIP and 8:1 K:BB through 7.1 innings. With Atlanta hot on the heels of the Mets for the NL East title, it might take a total meltdown from Jansen for him to lose his grip on the ninth.
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Braves' Kenley Jansen: Sharp in 34th save
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Jansen struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Phillies.
Jansen was reportedly unavailable with a finger issue Friday, but he was deemed good-to-go ahead of Saturday's contest. A save chance arose, and he needed just nine pitches (seven strikes) to convert it. This was his first save opportunity since he blew a chance in Seattle last Sunday. Jansen now has a 3.76 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 72:19 K:BB through 55 innings while converting 34 of 41 save chances. Assuming the finger soreness doesn't resurface, he should remain Atlanta's primary closer the rest of the way.
