BRONX, NY — Kenley Jansen of the Detroit Tigers, a future Cooperstown Hall of Famer, had a major career milestone earlier this season, surpassing Hall of Famer Lee Smith for the third most saves by a reliever in Major League Baseball history, with his 479th.
Accomplishing this feat on April 14th against the Royals at Comerica Park, putting him ahead of Smith, the only two in front of Jansen now (485) are Padres legend Trevor Hoffman (601) and Yankees icon Mariano Rivera (652). Hoffman and Rivera are already in the Hall of Fame, while Jansen, will be a sure lock when the time comes.
“It’s amazing, man. It’s a lot of adversity that I’m dealing with this year, but, you know, you can’t let that overcome what you accomplished earlier on this year,” Jansen told Latino Sports this week at Yankee Stadium as the Tigers were in the Bronx to take on the Yankees in a three-game set.
“It’s an unbelievable milestone to put my name next to Lee Smith so I’m not taking that for granted.”
Jansen has made 956 appearances over his distinguished 17-year MLB career, posting an ERA of 2.63 across 947.2 innings with 1,301 strikeouts—the fifth most strikeouts all-time for a reliever in MLB history—tied at 1. Aroldis Chapman (1,363) & Hoyt Wilhelm (1,363), 3. Rich Gossage (1,340), 4. Craig Kimbrel (1,304) & 5. Jansen (1,301).
Other than being together on this rare list amongst relievers, Aroldis Chapman of the Red Sox, a two-time LatinoMVP Reliever of the Year, and Jansen, who spent the 2025 season with the Los Angeles Angels, each earned the nod on Latino Sports’ prestigious 2025 LatinoMVP Award ballot for AL LatinoMVP Reliever of the Year, which Chapman won.
Kenley’s Busy Offseason and His Third WBC Experience
Jansen, 38, of Willemstad, Curaçao, signed with the Tigers this past December on a one-year deal worth $11 million for the 2026 season.
Throughout his historic MLB career, Kenley Jansen has pitched for the Dodgers (2010-2021), Braves (2022), Red Sox (2023-2024), Angels (2025) and Tigers (2026) – Image Credit: Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
Just over three months later, he had the honor to play for the Netherlands in the 2026 World Baseball Classic while getting managed by his childhood idol Andruw Jones who will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday, July 26th—more information on Latino Sports’ bus trip to Cooperstown.
“It’s always awesome when you play with your grown-up friends in Curaçao, and we all get to be there and compete for our country,” Jansen said of his WBC experience with the Netherlands.
He, along with others such as Ozzie Albies and Xander Bogaerts, natives of Curaçao, are eligible to play because Curaçao is a colony of the Netherlands. And for Jansen, this past WBC was not his first experience in the tournament, also playing for the Netherlands in the 2017 WBC as a pitcher and 2009 WBC as a catcher—the only player in World Baseball Classic history to catch and pitch.
Getting Back To 100%
The right-handed hurler, listed at six-five and 265 lbs, has accomplished just about everything one could have dreamt of—winning the World Series with the Dodgers in 2020, the Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award twice, and becoming a four-time All-Star.
Unfortunately for Jansen, this season has been a struggle, giving up three walk-off home runs with a 2026 ERA of 5.31 over 20.1 innings. He’s recorded 23 strikeouts and nine saves in 13 opportunities despite battling with pelvic inflammation that put him on the injured list on May 28th, which he was able to return from on June 12th.
“We’re still trying to get to 100%, that’s our goal” Jansen said on his health status. “That’s the beauty of the game. You just work hard to be 100%, and when you are 100%, it’s gonna be fun out there pitching.”
Although he did not appear on the mound this week in the Bronx, Jansen and the Tigers had a big sweep of the Yankees to keep themselves afloat in a mediocre American League.
Detroit now sits six games out of the final AL Wild Card spot with a record of 38-49 and have 75 games left to play in the 2026 regular season.
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