Catching up with Kenley Jansen
For the final three games of the Red Sox' 2024 season, there was one difference in team's clubhouse well before the final pitch was even thrown: The locker belonging to Kenley Jansen no longer had his nameplate and was not possessing the belongs to rookie pitcher Chase Shugart.
Jansen, who had been put on the injured list with shoulder inflammation one week before the final regular season game, had already headed home.
Sunday, a story in MassLive.com stated that some of Jansen's teammates weren't happy with Jansen's early exit. When asked about the dynamic prior to his team's final game of the season, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, "I told Kenley to go home. So if they're upset they should come to my office and ask me. We talk during the week and there is other stuff going on with Kenley, too. But the manager decided for him, hey, we're out of it, if you want to go home, go home. And he went home."
Appearing on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast, Kenley Jansen is explaining how the process unfolded in those final few days of what was a two-season stint with the Red Sox.
"Me and AC had a conversation and I think we both agreed … Of course, I had been dealing with my shoulder with the inflammations and all that," he said. "That’s what it was. It was nothing big. We came to an agreement that I think it’s best to put me on the IL to let that shoulder recover. That’s pretty much it. When we got eliminated we agreed I could go home. No biggie. All love. That’s what it was."
He added, "When we got eliminated I decided to go home. Starting my process here, working out already. Also, do exercises to make the shoulder a little bit stronger and all that. We’re recovering right now. I’m not going to be here and home and just sit. I’m going to workout and get better and be motivated for 2025."
Following Jansen's final pitch, thrown in the Red Sox' Game 1 win over the Twins, the closer insinuated while walking through the clubhouse that his season might be over. As it turned out, that was the reality of the situation.
"It started when we were playing Toronto (in late August). I started feeling it," he explained. "I had been pitching on it for a while. To me it’s the best thing to just get better. You don’t want to regret in your career, something major happens. It’s smarter to me to take a few days off and let me arm recover. That’s just the best thing to be on the IL.
"At that moment (against Minnesota) I knew that was going to be it. Shutting it down."
Asked if it was a tough decision to end his season, leave his team and headed back home to Los Angeles, Jansen said, "Of course. We came to a decision that was best. I need to see my family and be around my kids."
The 37-year-old who has praised Cora throughout his tenure with the Red Sox - citing the manager as a chief reason he came to Boston, made it a point that his relationship with Cora remains stronger than ever.
"It’s a business. At the end of the day I understand this is a business and for me AC is a great manager and when you’re not going to play the game he’s going to care about your family, your kids," the reliever said. "Knowing that but then they have to do what’s best for them, too, and I have to do what’s best for me, too. At the end of the day there are no hard feelings and I think he’s a great manager. My two years I played with him I can’ t say anything bad about him."
Jansen, who will be eligible for free agency this offseason for a fourth time in his career, finishes his two years with the Red Sox converting 56 of 64 save opportunities, having totaled 447 saves for his career.
"I had a blast. It’s a great city. That’s what I can remember," he said. "It’s a city that deserves winning … It’s a city of champions. They deserve nothing but the best."