The Los Angeles Angels made their first big move of the offseason Tuesday, trading Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Grayson Rodriguez to reinforce their starting pitching — a huge need for the Halos this offseason.
With just one spot open in their rotation, the Angels can shift their focus to other areas of the roster which need help. One such area is their depth in the bullpen.
The Angels had the third-worst bullpen in baseball in 2025, and could turn to Kenley Jansen once again this offseason.
“Jansen wants to continue pitching, and unless he’s set on joining a proven contender, a return to Anaheim could be in the cards,” Feinsand said.
Jansen had his best season since leaving the Dodgers in 2025, posting a 2.59 ERA through 62 appearances for the Angels. He converted 29 of his 30 save attempts last season, and went 5-for-5 on saves while not allowing a run through 11 appearances in July, when he won his first American League Reliever of the Month award.
This deal doesn’t just make sense on paper, either. Jansen vocalized his desire to get the Angels back into the postseason throughout the regular season, and even said he’d like to stay with the Halos in October.
“They know where I’m living,” Jansen said. “I care about these guys in this clubhouse. I want to be a part to help them bring this organization back to the postseason. That’s for sure. But at the same time, when it becomes an open market, everything can go. You never know where you’re going to go, where you going to end up. So that’s the one thing I learned about the last four years on the free agent market. So it’s basically not in my hands. It’s in their hands.”
Spotrac values Jansen at a one-year, $13.7 million contract, which is extremely similar to the $10 million deal the Halos gave him in January. The future Hall of Famer’s presence would be a huge help to the Angels in the clubhouse, and would meet their need for a closer this offseason.
Latest Angels News