ANAHEIM — Kenley Jansen left little doubt that he has more left in the tank after this season.
“Four more years,” the Angels closer said moments after the season ended on Sunday afternoon. “For sure. That’s the goal. Offseason begins tomorrow. No kidding. I’m getting in the gym at 5 a.m. tomorrow.”
The Angels signed Jansen to a $10 million deal just before the start of spring training, so he’ll hit free agency again this winter.
Although Jansen turns 38 on Tuesday, he isn’t ready to put the final bow on a career that could land him in the Hall of Fame.
Jansen finished the season with 29 saves in 30 chances, to go with a 2.59 ERA. He now has 476 career saves, which is two behind Lee Smith for third on the all-time list.
“I feel great,” Jansen said. “This year taught me a lot. I think I had one of my best seasons so far in save percentage. Got my worst game (allowing three homers in a game in May). That taught me a lot. I didn’t quit. All the years that I have, it can go south. I never let that make me feel bad about myself. I let that become a fuel to make me better.”
The Angels will have to decide if they want to spend the money to bring Jansen back next year. They have appreciated both his performance and his influence on the young pitchers, but they have also had plenty of other needs that could get the resources.
Jansen, who lives in Southern California, made it clear he’d like to return.
“They know where I’m living,” Jansen said. “I care about these guys in this clubhouse. I want to be a part to help them bring this organization back to the postseason. That’s for sure. But at the same time, when it becomes an open market, everything can go. You never know where you’re going to go, where you going to end up. So that’s the one thing I learned about the last four years on the free agent market. So it’s basically not in my hands. It’s in their hands.”
STILL WAITING
Right-hander Robert Stephenson, who finished the season on the injured list because of elbow inflammation, said on Sunday afternoon that he’s still not done collecting information to determine what’s next.
“We’re still kind of working on getting some more info and going through some decisions and stuff,” Stephenson said.
Asked if surgery was one of the options, Stephenson declined to elaborate.
Stephenson, 32, just completed the second year of his three-year, $33-million deal. He missed the first year with Tommy John surgery. In between rehab from that and two other injuries, he pitched just 10 innings, with a 2.70 ERA, for the Angels this season.
NOTES
The Angels finished with 1,627 strikeouts, which was the second most in major league history. …
Adell finished his season with 37 homers and 98 RBIs. Adell was voted by his teammates as the Angels’ MVP for the season. …
Right-hander José Soriano was named the Nick Adenhart Pitcher of the Year, as voted by his teammates. …
The Angels finished with an attendance of 2,615,506, which ranked 13th in the major leagues. The attendance increased by 37,909 from last season, although it was still not as high as in the last full seasons with Shohei Ohtani or the pre-COVID years. …
First baseman Nolan Schanuel was not in the starting lineup for either of the last two games. Schanuel, who just came back from a month on the injured list with a bone bruise, said he is fine. “He’s just at the point where he’s gotten back from what he was working through, and it was a good time to give him rest, let him know he’s healthy going into the offseason,” Montgomery said.
