Report: Tigers agree to 1-year, $11M deal with Kenley Jansen

The Detroit Tigers have a new closer, as they've agreed to a one-year contract with veteran reliever Kenley Jansen, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Jansen's deal, which also includes a club option for 2027, is worth $11 million, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports. Terms of the option were not immediately known.

Completion of the agreement is pending a physical.

Jansen, who spent last season with the Los Angeles Angels, sits fourth on the all-time saves list with 476. He needs just three saves to pass Hall of Famer Lee Smith for third place and is 24 shy of joining Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman in the 500-save club.

One of the most decorated closers in history, Jansen owns a lifetime 2.57 ERA and 0.96 WHIP along with 1,278 strikeouts over 16 big-league seasons. The two-time Reliever of the Year winner is the majors' active leader in both saves and appearances (933) and one of only six relievers to record at least 1,000 career Ks.

The 38-year-old enjoyed a quietly successful 2025 season in Anaheim, putting up a 2.59 ERA, 3.98 FIP, and 0.95 WHIP along with 29 saves over 59 innings. He also pitched in 60-plus games for the eighth time in his career. However, Jansen's K/9 rate did fall to 8.7, marking the first time he's ever posted a K/9 below 10 in his career.

Jansen is the second reliever the Tigers have added this week after re-signing trade-deadline pickup Kyle Finnegan to a two-year, $19-million contract.

Will Vest was Detroit's primary closer last year, tallying 23 saves during the regular season plus one more in the playoffs. Finnegan had four saves after joining the team in August.

Jansen's presence lengthens the Tigers' bullpen, allowing both Finnegan - a one-time All-Star closer himself - and Vest to be deployed as setup men or even stoppers in the sixth, seventh, or eighth innings. Manager A.J. Hinch's bullpen also features reliable lefties Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter.