ANAHEIM — Kenley Jansen has an ambitious plan for the rest of his career.
“My goal is at least four more years after this season,” Jansen said. “That’s my goal.”
Jansen, 37, is in his 16th big league season. With 467 saves, he’s taking aim on becoming the third pitcher ever to reach 500, joining Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601). Jansen will have to wait until next season for that one, but if he actually sticks around beyond 2026, he could go well beyond 500.
Rivera pitched until he was 43 and Hoffman until he was 42.
Jansen is still pitching well this season, with a 2.85 ERA in 44 games. He was named American League reliever of the month for July, when he did not allow an earned run.
Also, Jansen said he’s doing all of this after a winter in which he didn’t really get in shape as he would normally, because he was tending to his mother, who died in February.
“I’m going to put the work in this offseason to get my body in better shape,” Jansen said. “Last year I spent the majority of time with my mom because of how sick she was. I didn’t work as much in the offseason. This offseason I’m definitely dedicating that to her and also to myself, to get in the best shape I can get.”
Any talk of Jansen’s future raises the question of what uniform he will be wearing.
Jansen has said often how much he’s enjoyed his time with the Angels, who signed him to a one-year, $10-million deal on the eve of spring training. His family still lives year-round in Southern California, so playing for the Angels has allowed him to be at home more than in the previous three years, when he was with the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves.
While it would be no surprise if Jansen re-signed with the Angels, he stopped short of saying he expects it.
“I can’t predict,” Jansen said. “I know what I can do for this season to help. Unfortunately, those decisions are not in my hands. One thing I learned is both sides have to like each other to have each other in the future.”
As general manager Perry Minasian was explaining why he didn’t trade Jansen at the deadline last week, he launched into a lengthy description of how much he’s valued Jansen’s performance on the field and his leadership in the clubhouse.
When Minasian was asked if he’d like to re-sign Jansen, he said: “Let’s get to the end of the season and look at everything and go from there.”
For now, Jansen is still with the Angels, which is perfectly fine with him.
“I think that’s the best way for this organization to go to the right direction,” Jansen said. “That’s what the message clearly shows to me. I’m excited. I like this group of guys that we have. Everything is possible. I believe we can do it. We’re capable of doing it. So it’s one game at a time. We just got to come and give all the best.”
MONCADA’S BIG DAY
Third baseman Yoán Moncada is scheduled to take his test to gain United States citizenship on Wednesday. Moncada traveled to Florida on Tuesday.
Because he was unavailable for two games, the Angels placed Moncada on the restricted list for two days. Niko Kavadas was recalled from Triple-A to take his place. Moncada is expected to rejoin the Angels on Friday in Detroit.
Moncada, 30, left Cuba legally in 2014, obtaining a visa and passport from the Cuban government in order to pursue a professional baseball career. He signed with the Boston Red Sox for a $31 million bonus. Moncada was subsequently traded to the Chicago White Sox, who signed him to a five-year, $70-million deal. The Angels signed him as a free agent just before spring training.
NOTES
Jo Adell’s two-run homer on Monday night was the result of some extra work he’d done in the cage to try to get out of a slump. Adell was hitless in his previous 15 at-bats and he’d been hitting .156 over his previous 24 games. Manager Ray Montgomery said Adell needed to “stay in the big part of the field, not trying to be too quick on the ball. I know it sounds simple, and we talk about it, but he has so much talent, and can hit the ball so far. For him, it’s more of don’t try to do it. Be in a good position to do it.” …
Right-hander Robert Stephenson threw a 25-pitch bullpen session, using his fastball and breaking pitches, on Tuesday afternoon. It was the third bullpen session for Stephenson since he resumed his throwing program about a month ago. He’s been out with bicep inflammation for two months. Stephenson said he’s not sure what the next step will be. He is likely to need to face hitters in some kind of simulated game before he heads to the minors for a rehab assignment. …
Luis Rengifo was out of the lineup for a second straight day, with Oswald Peraza getting his first start with the Angels at third and Christian Moore playing second. Rengifo has hit .290 with a .764 OPS since June 13. “Good problems to have when you have a lot of players who are capable,” Montgomery said. “He’s part of the 26. He’s going to get back in there for sure. He’s a big part of what we’ve been doing. He’s got to be ready to come off the bench tonight and probably be back in there tomorrow.” …
UP NEXT
Rays (RHP Shane Baz, 8-8, 4.29) at Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-7, 4.49), Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM