With two series left to go in the 2024 MLB season, Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen left the team early, which became a problem in the locker room.
According to reports, multiple Red Sox were upset that Jansen didn't stick around for the rest of the season after he ended up on the injured list with a shoulder injury following his last outing against the Minnesota Twins last Sunday.
Over the weekend, Jansen appeared on Rob Bradford's "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast to discuss a number of topics, including why he departed early.
"Me and (Alex Cora) had a conversation, and I think we both agreed that, of course, I've been dealing with my shoulder the last couple of weeks with inflammation and all that, so that's what it was," Jansen explained. "It's nothing big. We came to an agreement that I think it's back to put me on the injured list to let that shoulder recover. That's pretty much it. When we got eliminated, they agreed that I could go home. No biggie. All love. That's what it is."
How difficult was it for Jansen to leave the team behind?
"Definitely tough, man," Jansen explained. "Like I said, it's an organization of winning, and I definitely feel frustrated that I didn't go to the playoffs in two years. I understand that part. It's hard to get to the playoffs, but that city deserves nothing but the best. Hopefully, they can sooner than later be in that position to try to win a World Series again. Like I said, it's a city of success. If you talk about Boston, you talk about L.A. and New York, those three cities, you talk about cities of champions to me. Hopefully, they can gather it and figure it out and put that organization back in that winning that everybody deserves there."
Jansen is set to hit the market at the end of the postseason, and at this point, it feels like a virtual guarantee that he's playing elsewhere in 2025. His ability to separate himself from Boston, the team and the city in those comments says a lot.
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