Angels' Kenley Jansen Reaches Huge Career Milestone in Series Finale With Guardians

The Los Angeles Angels have a newly-acquired closer that is chasing much more than wins this season.

Kenley Jansen came to Anaheim with a reputation that preceeded him, and once again showed the baseball world why. He recorded his 1,225th career strikeout which moves him to No. 5 of all time among relief pitchers.

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#Angels Kenley Jansen has recorded his 1,225th career strikeout as a reliever, which ties Hall of Famer Lee Smith for fifth-most all-time.
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) April 6, 2025

Jansen is now tied for the fifth spot with Hall of Fame closer Lee Smith, but this isn't the only category that the new closer of the Halos is chasing owned by Smith.

Smith, a seven-time All-Star who last played in 1997, has the third most saves of all time with 478. Jansen is right behind him with 449 and already two saves this season.

The longtime member of the Los Angeles Dodgers started his baseball life as a catcher, but transitioned to a reliever role before hitting the big leagues and quickly became one of the most formidable bullpen arms in MLB.

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He first debuted in 2010 in L.A. and spent a total of 12 seasons at Dodger Stadium. He earned three All-Star selections, a World Series ring, and even finished as high as fifth in Cy Young award voting in 2017.

He then made his way to the Atlanta Braves for the 2022 campaign and then headed to the Boston Red Sox for two seasons and earned another All-Star honor. This winter, Jansen joined the Halos in the offseason with history in his crosshairs.

Jansen finished 2024 with an ERA of 3.29, his lowest since the 2021 campaign, and a WAR of 1.3, which is his highest since that season.

Last year's totals of 62 strikeouts over 54.2 innings pitched with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.10 were all up from the season prior and included a much improved 1.061 WHIP.

Whatever saves total or strikeout total Jansen ends this season with, the total that he came to Anaheim to improve is the win total.

Last year's 63 wins resulted in the lowest winning percentage in franchise history. Jansen is already showing that he can be a major piece in rectifying that in 2025.

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