Detroit Tigers: Pros and Cons of Signing Kenley Jansen

Pros

Jansen is Really Good at Throwing a Baseball

Since entering the league in 2010, the 29-year-old has thrown 408.2 innings while allowing just 100 earned runs. That totals out to a sparkling 2.20 career ERA. What’s more, Jansen’s career FIP is even more exceptional at 1.93.

In fact, the reliever has only twice posted a FIP higher than 2.00. All told, his career-worst in the category came in 2012. During that season, the right hander’s FIP came in at 2.40.

Another stat worthy of mentioning is Jansen’s potency for strikeouts. In just 68.2 innings in 2016 he fanned 104 batters. For his career, he’s averaged 13.9 punch outs per nine innings.

Potential Role in Detroit

With Francisco Rodriguez potentially coming back to Detroit, the current Dodger could play a role similar to the one Andrew Miller plays in Cleveland.

While the ninth inning is extremely important in a game, the most important inning in terms of threatening the lead may come in the sixth, seventh or eighth. Using Jansen in this capacity would boost the Tigers bullpen significantly, while taking pressure off the likes of Wilson, Greene and Rondon.

What’s more, the team would still have an excellent closer in Rodriguez to slam the door in the ninth. Detroit could also still use Jansen on occasion in the ninth.