Detroit Tigers: Pros and Cons of Signing Kenley Jansen

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Oct 1, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) delivers a pitch during the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

Detroit Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez enjoyed a solid first season in the Motor City, racking up 44 saves in 61 appearances. However, the bullpen was a problem again for Detroit. Kenley Jansen could be a fit.

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila did well to rebuild a struggling bullpen following the 2015 season.

After a season that saw Alex Wilson and Blaine Hardy function as the team’s only dependable relievers, Avila brought in Mark Lowe, Justin Wilson and Rodriguez to bolster the back end of the bullpen.

While Lowe struggled, the emergence of Bruce Rondon, Kyle Ryan and Shane Greene as useful relievers helped make up for it.

Despite some solid displays from a number of relievers, the team’s bullpen wasn’t the most consistent group. The Tigers will need consistency out of the team’s relievers if they want to advance in the postseason come the 2017 season.

One solution could be signing Kenley Jansen.

The longtime Los Angeles Dodgers closer is slated to hit free agency this offseason and is one of the game’s premier relief pitchers.

While the likes of Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman tend to get all the attention, Jansen has quietly posted numbers on par with the outstanding duo. He’d be an excellent fit in Detroit.

Here are the pros and cons as to whether the Detroit Tigers should sign Kenley Jansen.

Aug 13, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) pitches during the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

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.

Aug 8, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers executive vice president and general manager Al Avila before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Cons

Money

The only real con with Jansen is a potential contract. Detroit doesn’t exactly have the most salary flexibility in the world, and adding the reliever could prove problematic.

However, things could change if Detroit moves some contracts.

It would be an extremely successful offseason for the Tigers if the team can get out from the respective contracts of Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey and Mark Lowe.

Should that happen, signing Jansen would be an excellent way to reinvest.

Detroit does have a number of substantial contracts on the books, but the team is fortunate in the sense that three-fifths of their rotation, their starting catcher and a number of key relievers are still under team control and not eligible for arbitration.

In this sense, they could spend on Jansen as they don’t yet have to pay premiums for the likes of Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, James McCann and Kyle Ryan.

The team will also have Erick Aybar’s contract coming off the books to free up some salary.

Other Teams

Another issue could be competition. Should the Detroit Tigers make a run at Jansen, they will won’t be alone.

Next: Do Tigers Need Another SP?

The Dodgers pitcher led all relievers in WAR, WHIP and batting average against. He was second in FIP and SIERA. Jansen also ranked in the top 10 in xFIP (sixth), ERA (seventh), strikeouts per nine innings (eighth) and walks per nine innings (ninth).

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