Kenley Jansen
#74 RP · Tigers
All-MLB 2nd Team '21All-MLB Second Team '21Relief Man Award '17
Height
6'5"
Weight
265 lbs
Age
38
College
N/A
Experience
16 yrs
Bats/Throws
B/R
A-
A
B+
N/A
Fan VerdictWhat's your verdict?
Grade Kenley Jansen
Your grade joins the crowd-sourced Fan Verdict.
The Verdict on Kenley, in One Read
On the field, Kenley Jansen grades out as an excellent RP for Tigers (A Performance). That places him 26th of 395 graded relief pitchers. The money matches the play — the Contract Value Index lands at A-, a clear bargain. The public read is positive (B+ Sentiment), drawn from current news and social signal rather than the box score. With 16+ seasons of track record, these grades rest on a deep sample.
Career StatsA
| Year | Team | GP | ERA | W-L | K | WHIP | IP | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career |  | 951 | 2.6073577 | 55-43 | 1297 | 0.96568805 | 0.0 | 483 |
| 2026 | | 18 | 4.80 | 1-3 | 19 | 1.20 | 15.0 | 7 |
| 2025 |
Current Contract
Length
1 year
Total Value
$11.0M
Guaranteed
$6.6M
AAV
$11.0M/yr
Guaranteed %60%
Contract Value Index (CVI)
A-
Great Value
OverpayFair ValueGreat Value
Net of age, position, and term, Kenley Jansen's deal earns a A- Contract Value Index. At $11M AAV on a single-year pact, the Tigers are paying market rate for a veteran closer with a track record of execution—Jansen's 2026 season sits at elite output (19 strikeouts across 18 games), and his historical resume includes an All-MLB Second Team selection in 2021 plus multiple Relief Man Awards—but the structural risk and durability profile materially undercut the value proposition. A 38-year-old reliever on a one-year deal is inherently volatile; the recent pelvic inflammation and immediate IL placement have already eroded the cost-effectiveness calculus, forcing Detroit to absorb the full $11M while losing immediate availability in a season where the team sits at 32-44 and five games back in the division. The Tigers' aggressive mid-June acquisition spree—adding Gleyber Torres, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and others in rapid succession—reads as organizational scrambling rather than strategic patience, which compounds the optics of overpaying for an aging reliever whose best days, per widespread media framing, are demonstrably behind him. Fair value for a closer of Jansen's current tier at this career stage typically lands closer to $8–10M annually; the Tigers are paying full freight for durability the market no longer assumes he carries. The CVI reflects a competent but not bargain-rate acquisition: solid on-field execution does not offset the age, injury history, and single-year commitment risk that define this contract's real downside.
Performance Analysis
A
Contracts in the Same Value Band
Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the A band — a quick read on where Kenley's contract sits relative to comparable money.
How Kenley Compares at the Position
Kenley Jansen ranks 26th of 395 graded relief pitchers by performance. That slots Kenley between Kyle Hurt (A) just ahead and Matt Brash (A) just behind.
Graded higher
Kyle HurtDodgersAAdrian MorejonPadresATyler RogersBlue JaysAKenley JansenA
Graded lower
Matt BrashMarinersRecent Games
| Date | OPP | Result | AB | H | R | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 6/20 | vs CHW | W 4-1 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - |
| Fri, 6/19 | vs CHW | W 4-3 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - |
Transaction History
News & Buzz
Live Discussion
Auto-moderated fan forum with 5-minute speaker turns
Discussion
Loading discussion...
Explore the leaderboards
About this player
Kenley Jansen is a veteran in his 16th MLB season listed at RP for the Tigers. FanVerdicts covers every MLB player, team, GM, and transaction — and puts your verdict on all of it. Sign in to cast your Fan Verdict on Kenley Jansen, see where the crowd lands, and argue the call. FanVerdicts also brings its own read — performance, sentiment, and Contract Value Index — as one honest input alongside the crowd's. Where FanVerdicts has weighed in so far: Contract Value Index A-, Performance A, Sentiment B+.
The crowd's Fan Verdict moves in real time as fans vote on this profile. FanVerdicts' own read updates as new data lands — performance recalculates when MLB game stats post, sentiment shifts with media coverage and fan discussion, and the Contract Value Index recomputes when contract terms change. Contract details below show the structure (years, total value, average annual value, guarantees) behind the Contract Value Index read.
For league-wide context, the MLB hub has team rankings, GM report cards, the transactions feed, and live scoreboards. The MLB player rankings page sorts every active player by performance and contract value within their position.
