Detroit Tigers sign Kyle Finnegan, Kenley Jansen in MLB free agency
The Detroit Tigers signed relievers Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen to upgrade their bullpen. Evan Petzold and Chris Brown evaluate on “Days of Roar.”
Detroit Tigers right-handed reliever Kenley Jansen shared a phone call with manager A.J. Hinch during free agency.
The 16-year reliever and 12-year manager talked about everything from a bullpen without any defined roles to the requirement of securing five-out saves. Most importantly, they discussed the importance of winning with the Tigers in 2026.
“The conversation was unbelievable,” Jansen said Dec. 19, just six days after signing with the Tigers for his age-38 season. “The minute that I talked to him, I had a great feeling. I’m like, ‘Man, I want to be a part of this.’ We talked about everything.”
After the conversation, the Tigers signed Jansen to a one-year, $9 million contract for the 2026 season with a $12 million club option (and $2 million buyout) for the 2027 season, guaranteeing him $11 million.
If all goes well, Jansen will serve as a high-leverage reliever for the Tigers in both 2026 and 2027.
“I heard how A.J. changed the whole culture to now a winning culture,” Jansen said. “I want to be a part of that to finish what they started. Tigers fans need it, and I’m excited to get to work. Keep building that winning culture and hopefully bring the ultimate prize to Detroit.”
The Tigers haven’t promised Jansen the closer role – not like they guaranteed Gleyber Torres would be the everyday second baseman as long as he wears the Old English “D.”
But Jansen is 24 saves away from the 500 milestone.
Only two relievers have reached that mark: Trevor Hoffman (601) and Mariano Rivera (652). With three more saves, Jansen will pass Lee Smith (478) for third on the all-time list.
His quest for 500 saves could be delayed because he has joined the Tigers without the closer role. Expect him to get the first chance at handling the majority of save situations, but if he stumbles, the Tigers won’t hesitate to pivot because other options exist in the bullpen.
“I understand I’m chasing 500, but at the end of the day, it’s about winning,” Jansen said.
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Entering 2026, the Tigers have three relievers with experience in the closer role: Jansen, right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan and right-handed reliever Will Vest. All three of them recorded at least 23 saves in 2025.
It’s easy to envision the Tigers using Vest as the roving high-leverage reliever, Finnegan as the setup man and Jansen as the closer – but the Tigers aren’t committed to any labels in their bullpen, as discussed by Jansen and Hinch in the free-agent process. There hasn’t been a defined closer in Detroit since left-handed reliever Gregory Soto in 2022.
That’s not a problem for Jansen.
“I told him, he’s the manager, so it’s up to him,” Jansen said. “We saw the Tigers last year – maybe an arm or a couple of arms away from the next round [in the postseason] and possibly going to the World Series. For me, the last three years, watching the playoffs at home, I’m itching a little bit after seeing the unbelievable things going on with the Tigers. I want to be a part of it.”
His willingness to pitch in any role stood out to the Tigers.
“He just wants to be in a winning environment,” president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Dec. 17, hinting at the selfless culture created and developed by Hinch. “To be able to court a future Hall of Famer like Kenley because he wants to come here and win is a big vote of confidence for me and everybody else that’s working so hard behind the scenes.”
Jansen has recorded at least 25 saves in each of the past 13 full seasons, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The streak features a career-high 47 saves in 2016 and a National League-leading 41 saves in both 2017 and 2022.
The 38-year-old – whose underlying metrics have some red flags – plans to pitch for at least three more seasons as he seeks to join Rivera and Hoffman in the exclusive 500-saves club.
He could end up chasing 600 saves.
“As long as God wants me to – that’s what I say,” Jansen said. “It’s not about that money. It’s about the love that I have for the game. One day, when I’m not playing the game, I don’t want to look back and wish I could do it different. I’m going to give all I have. I believe I have a few more years left in my tank.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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