TIGERS, RHP KENLEY JANSEN AGREE TO ONE-YEAR DEAL
The Detroit Tigers and right-handed pitcher Kenley Jansen have agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2026 season with a club option for the 2027 campaign. Jansen will earn a salary of $9,000,000 during the 2026 season and $12,000,000 if his club option is exercised for 2027. There is a $2,000,000 buy-out if the club option is not exercised.
Jansen, 38, joins the Tigers as one of the most accomplished relief pitchers in major league history. He leads all active pitchers and ranks fourth in major league history with 476 saves, leads all active pitchers with 933 appearances (23rd-most all-time) and leads all active hurlers with 700 games finished, seventh-most in major league history. Jansen is a four-time All-Star (2016-18, 2023) and has recorded 25 or more saves in each of the last 13 seasons (minus 2020) while eclipsing 40 saves four times, including as recently as 2022 when he led the N.L. with 41 saves with Atlanta.
The righthander is coming off an exceptional 2025 campaign during which he went 5-4 with 29 saves, a 2.59 ERA (17 ER/59.0 IP) and a 165 ERA+ in 62 relief outings with the Los Angeles Angels, his second-best ERA+ in his last eight years. Jansen turned in a 0.949 WHIP, sixth-lowest in the A.L. (min. 60 apps.) and his best mark since 2017, while finishing fifth in the A.L. in saves and fourth with 47 games finished. His 2.4 bWAR last year was his fifth-highest mark in his 16-season career and his second-best mark in the last eight seasons, trailing only his 2.5 bWAR in 2021.
A two-time Trevor Hoffman N.L. Reliever of the Year (2016-17), Jansen has finished in his league’s Top 10 in both saves and games finished a whopping 13 different seasons, including the last 12 in a row in saves and last 13 in a row in games finished. Of all major league pitchers with at least 500 appearances this century, Jansen ranks second with a 0.96 WHIP, fourth with an average of 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings and fifth with a 2.57 ERA. He begins 2026 two saves shy of tying Hall of Famer Lee Smith (478 saves) for third-most in major league history.
Jansen has qualified for the postseason in 10 different seasons, winning the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020. He has gone 12-9 with 20 saves and a 2.20 ERA (16 ER/65.1 IP) in 59 career playoff appearances, averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings and posting a 0.796 WHIP. He is one of only three pitchers to make at least 50 post-season outings this century, joining Mariano Rivera and Ryan Madson, while Jansen’s 20 post-season saves this century trail only Rivera.
A native of Curacao, Jansen originally signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a catcher at the age of 17 in 2004 before converting to pitcher in 2009. He made his major league debut a year later and has gone 54-40 with a 2.57 ERA (265 ER/927.1 IP) and 476 saves in 933 relief appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2010-21), Atlanta Braves (2022), Boston Red Sox (2023-24) and Los Angeles Angels (2025).
