The Tigers’ bullpen revamp for 2026 now includes an unusual feature for the A.J. Hinch era: A veteran closer. Detroit has reached agreement on a one-year contract with four-time All-Star and 16-year veteran Kenley Jansen, sources told MLB.com.
The deal, which is pending a physical and has not been confirmed by the Tigers, includes a club option for 2027, according to MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand.
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The 38-year-old Jansen leads all active Major Leaguers with 476 saves, just two shy of Lee Smith for third on MLB’s all-time leaderboard. Jansen has recorded at least 25 saves in 13 consecutive non-shortened seasons, excluding the pandemic-truncated 2020 campaign.
Jansen recorded 29 saves this past season in a career resurgence for the Angels. His 24.4 percent strikeout rate was the lowest of his career, but his 0.95 WHIP was his best since 2017, when he shared the National League lead with 41 saves and placed fifth in NL Cy Young voting.
Jansen has always leaned on his cutter, which was one of the nastiest pitches in the game in his prime. But it was a more effective pitch this past season, allowing a mere .164 batting average and .238 wOBA despite an average exit velocity of 90.9 miles per hour and a career-low whiff rate of 25.2 percent, according to Baseball Savant.
The Tigers saw Jansen at his low point during the season, handing him six of his 18 runs allowed for the season in one tumultuous ninth inning at Angel Stadium on May 2. Riley Greene and Colt Keith opened the inning with back-to-back home runs to put Detroit in front before Jace Jung singled and scored on a Javier Báez homer. Greene homered again later in the inning off Jake Eder to finish Jansen’s line.
Jansen bounced back the next day and retired both Greene and Keith with a three-run lead to record the save. He posted a 1.97 ERA, 3.27 FIP and .148 batting average the rest of the way.
Jansen’s fifth MLB team is one that has functioned well without an established closer under Hinch, who has prioritized using his best relievers in the biggest situations against the toughest part of a lineup regardless of inning. Will Vest led the team with 23 saves, but five other pitchers recorded a save, including nine from Tommy Kahnle in what amounted to an early-season timeshare. Four more saves came from Trade Deadline acquisition Kyle Finnegan in his first few weeks as a Tiger, before the former Nationals closer settled into a more situational role leading up to the ninth inning.
The Tigers reached an agreement to bring back Finnegan earlier this week. By adding Jansen, Detroit sets up a potentially modified bullpen where it can continue to mix and match situationally leading up to the ninth inning and then hand it off to Jansen, who will be by far the most veteran closer Hinch has managed.
The Tigers have turned to veteran closers in previous windows of contention with mixed results. Former Tigers All-Star closer Todd Jones returned to Detroit in 2006 and posted 93 saves over his final three MLB seasons, pushing him past the 300-save mark and earning him the franchise record. Jose Valverde saved 119 games over four years in Detroit, including a single-season team record of 49 in 2011. Joe Nathan had mixed success over one-plus seasons in Detroit, saving 35 games in 2014 but with a 4.81 ERA. Francisco Rodríguez racked up 44 saves in 2016 before the Tigers released him midway through the 2017 season.