ANAHEIM – Kenley Jansen is dealing with rib pain on his left side, he told reporters on Wednesday afternoon before the Angels’ series finale against the Reds.
The Halos closer said he injured himself during a workout in the weight room, and that it affected him in both his outings since then. Jansen was visibly gassed in his appearance against the Athletics on Sunday, as he walked two batters and threw 28 pitches to get through his inning. He took the loss in Tuesday’s game after allowing two runs on two hits and a walk to the Reds.
“The last two outings, I can’t get in my stance. I can’t turn because of the tremendous [amount] of pain that I get,” he said. “It’s not fun pitching like that.”
Interim Angels manager Ray Montgomery and a trainer visited Jansen on the mound when he loaded the bases in the top of the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game, but Jansen refused to come out.
“This is my game. I put these runners on,” he told Montgomery. “I’m gonna get us out of this.”
“He’s been in that situation before. We saw it on Sunday,” Montgomery said. “And he’s managed to do it. So with respect to him, give him that opportunity.”
Even with the loss, Jansen doesn’t regret pitching through the pain on Tuesday.
“That’s who I am. I care about my teammates, man,” he said. “I don’t want to put any other of my teammates in my position. … I’m still going to deal with the pain if I feel like I can get the job done, and the worst thing is, I didn’t. But I’m not going to blame [things] on injuries and all that stuff. I didn’t get the job done yesterday, I lost the game.
“We’ll treat this part, and we’ll be back out there.”
The 37-year-old has been a steady presence for the Angels’ bullpen this season, and his numbers have reflected that. His 3.00 ERA this season is his lowest since 2021, and his 23 saves are sixth-best in the AL. Jansen is currently 30 saves away from reaching 500 in his career.
Both Jansen and Montgomery are optimistic that he can avoid a stint on the injured list, and Jansen mentioned that the level of concern isn’t high enough to warrant an MRI at this point.
He’s been getting treatment for the last four days, and will undergo further evaluation on his ribs on Friday after resting on Wednesday and the off-day on Thursday.
“I’m going to fight that,” Jansen said. “Try to get as much treatment as I can, and we’ll see how it goes.”