Kenley Jansen has not been “right” since late April, as he has been dealing with groin/abdomen soreness and pelvic inflammation. The closer tried to play through the issues throughout much of the month of May, but it was finally decided on May 28 that he would go on the IL. The Tigers are certainly hoping for Jansen to be back soon as they currently reside in the basement of the American League Central.
Below, we will provide an injury update on Jansen, and also look at potential return dates.
Kenley Jansen injury update: When will closer return?
It was first revealed that Jansen was not 100 percent on May 2, when the Tigers listed their closer as “day-to-day” with groin/abdomen soreness.
The 38-year-old showed real signs of injury on May 24, when he allowed a three-run walk-off homer to Baltimore’s Colton Cowser. Then, on May 27 against the Angels, Jansen had to be removed from the game after throwing just nine pitches.
The Tigers have not put an official timeline on Jansen’s recovery, but this type of injury typically takes around 2-3 weeks to resolve.
Here is a look at the Tigers’ schedule around the time that Jansen is expected to return.
- Wednesday, June 17: Tigers at Astros
- Friday, June 19: White Sox at Tigers
- Saturday, June 20: White Sox at Tigers
- Sunday, June 21: White Sox at Tigers
- Monday, June 22: Yankees at Tigers
- Tuesday, June 23: Yankees at Tigers
- Wednesday, June 24: Yankees at Tigers
- Thursday, June 25: Astros at Tigers
MLB teams typically like to bring players back from injury during a homestand. Detroit has a 10-game homestand from June 19 to June 28.
Kenley Jansen fantasy baseball outlook
Even at his advanced MLB age, Jansen is still a reliable closer when healthy. The Curacao native has seven saves on the season, which is tied for 17th in the Majors. Jansen posted 29 saves last year in his only year as a member of the Angels, and he recorded 27 saves the year prior with the Red Sox. He is owned in 70 percent of Yahoo fantasy baseball leagues despite the injury issues this season.
Jansen is third all-time on the MLB saves list with 483 to his name. Former Yankees great Mariano Rivera (652) sits first on the list, and former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman (601) is second.
Detroit Tigers odds
The Tigers have been one of the more disappointing teams in baseball this season as they are tied for having the worst record in MLB at 23-38.
At the start of the season, AJ Hinch’s club had +2000 odds to win the World Series. Only nine teams in MLB appeared ahead of them on the World Series odds board.
Detroit is now +7500 to win it all at Fanatics Sportsbook, with 18 teams ahead of them.
The Tigers are currently +1400 at Fanatics to win the AL Central.
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