Tigers' Kenley Jansen: Named favorite to close by manager
Share Video
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch indicated Wednesday on the Tiger Territory podcast that Jansen will open the season as the team's favorite to serve as closer.
Speaking about his high-leverage relief options, Hinch said, "I think they're all going to get saves," before adding that "I think we can pretty much guess how it's gonna go given that one of them has a historic number of saves." The latter comment was in reference to Jansen, who is 24 saves away from 500 for his career. It doesn't mean the 38-year-old will finish the 2026 season as the Tigers' closer, but it's a safe bet Jansen will open the year as Hinch's first choice to handle save opportunities. Will Vest and/or Kyle Finnegan would be next-in-line if Jansen slips up. Jansen's strikeout rate dipped to a career-low 24.4 percent in 2025 with the Angels, but he remained effective, posting a 2.59 ERA and 0.95 WHIP while notching 29 saves.
