Angels' Kenley Jansen Wants to Reach Historic Milestone Before Retiring

Jul 9, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Kenley Jansen (74) tosses the ball on the mound during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

As much as anything in the Angels' organizational DNA, the franchise enjoys helping veteran players climb baseball's all-time leaderboards. From Reggie Jackson to Albert Pujols and now Kenley Jansen, Angel Stadium has been host to many late-career milestones.

Jansen, a four-time All-Star, has added 20 saves to his career total in his first season in Anaheim. With about two months left in the regular season, Jansen needs 11 saves to match Hall of Famer Lee Smith for third all-time with 478 career saves.

If he reaches 500, Jansen will join Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman as the only players to reach the threshold.

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In July, Jansen earned his third Reliever of the Month honor and his first in the American League. (He previously won the award in June 2017 and July/August 2020 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.) That earned him a live hit Friday on MLB Network, during which he discussed his pursuit of the game's elite closers.

"I definitely start to think about it now that I’m close to 500 (saves)," Jansen said. "I think it’s something special. Why not? I’m definitely going to work hard for it."

Jansen went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA across 11.1 innings pitched last month. He was 5-for-5 in save opportunities.

As a team, the Angels went 12-14 for the month of July, further diminishing their chances of clinching a postseason berth.

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Jansen, 37, is unaccustomed to his teams falling out of conentention before the trade deadline. A sub-.500 record wasn't enough to earn Jansen a trade out of Anaheim, however. That means his next career saves milestone is a more realistic goal than his next October relief appearance.

"My Dodger days, Braves, now here — you’re all thinking about winning, winning, winning, winning," he told MLB Network, "and you get those saves; it comes with it. Now that I’m here I think it’s special. I hear more people talk about (milestones) now. It makes me be more dedicated, to get to such a milestone like that.”

Whether or not he remains in Anaheim beyond this season — “I can’t predict,” Jansen told the Orange County Register recently — he's already made his mark on the Angels' record books.

Career save No. 450 for Kenley Jansen!

(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/jupTKEQOv1

— MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2025

Jansen is the first Angels reliever to appear in at least 11 games and not allow a run or walk in a calendar month since Fernando Salas in August 2014 (13 games).

The 2020 World Series champion closed his month with three consecutive saves on July 27-29,
becoming the first Angels pitcher with a save on three consecutive days since Huston Street in 2016.

Jansen converted his 20th save of the year on July 29 against Texas, becoming the fourth player in major league history with at least 20 saves in 13 or more seasons, joining Smith (13 seasons); Hoffman (15 seasons); and Rivera (16 seasons).

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