Kenley Jansen, the game’s active saves leader, is sitting at 496 career saves with only nine games left on the schedule for the Detroit Tigers. It is a stunning number to be stuck on, especially when his team’s bullpen has logged the second-most blown saves in all of baseball this season with a truly demoralizing 32. Jansen himself called it a “terrible year,” but digging into the numbers, you have to wonder if he is just snakebitten by circumstance more than truly terrible.
The Bullpen Blight and Jansen’s Hidden Gem Stats
Look, Jansen’s 13% walk rate is a career-high, and yeah, he has given up two walk-off homers on mislocated sinkers plus five more dingers off his cutter. For a closer, every single mistake feels like it flips the game, and those mistakes have cost him. But check this out: the hard-hit rate against him is a low 36.4%. His expected batting average (.199) and expected slugging percentage (.367) are actually right in line with his career norms. His signature cutter still carries a plus-5 run value and is holding hitters to a meager .176 average. And his slider? That thing has morphed from a minus-3 run value to a plus-3, absolutely locking down hitters to a .100 average, with only two hits in 20 at-bats and zero extra-base hits. Those are numbers that scream “elite,” not “terrible.”
Detroit’s Close-Game Curse Is Crushing Opportunities
The real problem here? The Tigers cannot win close games. It is an absolute nightmare. They have 32 blown saves this season, but only 30 earned saves. Read that again. They blow more than they close. They have coughed up 44 games in which they actually led at one point, and their record in games decided by two runs or less is a dismal 21-48. This is how a team with the American League’s fourth-best run differential, a plus-74 mark, ends up on the verge of playoff elimination. They are one loss away from their first losing season in three years, and that is not all on the back-end relievers. But it definitely conspires to stall Jansen’s historic run. He has only had 26 save opportunities in 47 appearances this season, the fewest in any full season of his career. He has had 33, 31, and 30 opportunities in past years since 2022. “This is two years now that I already thought I’d get there,” Jansen admitted. “But I never have the chance. The opportunities have been down.”
The 500-Save Club and Jansen’s Uncertain Future
Jansen needs just four more saves to become only the third pitcher in history to reach 500, joining Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601) in that exclusive club. He says he does not even want to think about it, that he cannot control the outcome. And you know what? With nine games left and his team losing like this, maybe he cannot. The Tigers hold a $12 million option on Jansen for 2027, with a $2 million buyout. When asked about doing it in a Tigers uniform, Jansen laughed and said, “Well, talk to them about picking up my option. If not, I will get it somewhere else.” With the Tigers one loss from securing a losing season and Jansen so close to history, these final nine games are going to feel like an eternity. Will he get four save chances, or will Detroit’s losing ways send him off to chase 500 somewhere else next year?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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