BOSTON — In Kenley Jansen, the Red Sox added one of the most decorated closers in baseball. They also added one of the game’s slowest workers, which is notable considering MLB’s impending introduction of the pitch clock in 2023.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Jansen (who spent 2022 with the Braves) took an average of 25.2 seconds per pitch with runners on base last season, which was well above the league average of 17.5 seconds. That’s more than five seconds longer than the rules will allow in 2023, as pitchers will be limited to 15 seconds between receiving the ball from the catcher and the start of their delivery with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base (or be charged with an automatic ball). Every big league pitcher will have to adjust in some fashion next season. Jansen’s adjustment might be a significant one.
It’s something the Red Sox were aware of, but not wary of, when they gave Jansen a two-year, $32 million contract to man the ninth inning.
“There is no higher pressure role, arguably, in this game, than what he has done for a living, for basically his whole career,” Bloom said. “There will be an adjustment. I expect we’ll see a pretty tough adjustment period for a lot of guys across the league. A lot of guys who have mindsets who are not as pressure-honed as he might struggle with it more. And then I think everybody’s going to find their way.”
Jansen, like many other pitchers in baseball, has come out against the pitch clock. In a Feb. In a 2018 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he called MLB’s pace-of-play initiatives “ridiculous.” On Tuesday, knowing he has no choice but to abide by the new rules next season, the 35-year-old struck a different tone. He thought back to the minors, when after first converting from catching to pitching, he focused on working quickly with then-pitching coach (and famed knuckleballer) Charlie Hough.
“You don’t have to let it bother you,” Jansen said.
Jansen’s deliberate approach on the mound isn’t something he was consciously aware of before recently.
“The funny thing is when they were talking about it (on TV), I think I was in the clubhouse at home with the Braves, and I saw my name,” Jansen said. “I’m like, ‘Man, am I that slow? Ok, cool.’”
“I don’t have a problem with it…” Jansen said. “It’s going to be tough on the hitters, too. I remember last year when I found out I’m the slowest and I started to speed myself up a little bit. I’m telling you, I was on the rubber waiting for the hitter for so long. I think it’s both sides. Both sides have to adjust. You can’t let stuff like that bother you. I’m excited for it. We’re going to learn about it and it’s going to be fine.”
Theoretically, the adjustment for Jansen, who is primarily a one-pitch pitcher, might be easier than for a pitcher who has a full arsenal to choose from. Jansen used his dominant pitch — his cutter — 64.4% of the time in 2022 while mixing in a sinker (22.5%) and slider (13.1%) more than he had throughout his career. Knowing what he’s going to throw most of the time might help Jansen get rid of the ball more quickly.
“If you, in past years, had guessed anything except for the cut baseball, you’re probably going to be wrong,” Bloom said. “With that said, he has shown an ability to make some adjustments here and there when it has been necessary.
“Mariano (Rivera)’s (cutter) is probably the gold standard. It’s unbelievable what he did and how he did it. But this one is up there,” Bloom added. “It’s not just how good it has been, but the staying power of it. It is hard in this game, when everybody knows when they’re going to face you and what you’re going to be doing, to still have all the success he has had, it just speaks to the quality of it.”
Come spring training, there will be a learning curve for everyone in baseball when the pitch clock is instituted for the first time. The Red Sox don’t think Jansen will struggle with it more than anyone else.
“I’m sure it will be an adjustment,” Bloom said. “There’s obviously an unknown that introduces. I think you saw, in the way he was talking about it, that he thinks through things.
“It’ll be interesting to watch,” he added. “I’m sure it’ll be frustrating at times. It will be entertaining at times. But I think we’re all going to get through this. I believe we’re going to like the product we have on the other side.”