Los Angeles Dodgers need to manage Kenley Jansen differently in playoffs

With every blown save there are more questions surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who may need to be managed differently.

Two years ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers had the best closer in baseball and it was not even close. Kenley Jansen came off yet another great season and cemented himself as arguably the most dominant arm in baseball.

Jansen recorded 41 saves in his all-star campaign in which he had a 1.32 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 68.1 innings pitched. He was so good that he finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 2017 and even received MVP votes.

Up to that point in his career, Kenley Jansen had a 2.08 ERA and 14.0 K/9. Those are numbers that mimick Mariano Rivera, who Jansen was long compared to because of his elite cutter.

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However, in 2018 Jansen came back down to earth. A spring training injury gave him a slow start and he never really found the same footing. He still finished the year despite missing time with an irregular heartbeat and finished the season with a 3.08 ERA.

Still, most people would probably take that out of a reliever, but it was not the same Jansen. That has translated more into this year, as Jansen once again seems mortal with a 3.83 ERA and five blown saves.

Personally, I am the last fan to freak out and declare that Jansen is done. However, there has been an alarming trend and more importantly, he has been far too inconsistent. Because of that, fans are worried for Jansen to take the mound when it matters in the postseason.

Jansen still has the potential to be really good but Dave Roberts and the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to have to manage him differently in October. There is nothing wrong with giving him confidence now, but the team has to adopt a much shorter leash in October.

You can tell when Jansen is going to have a bad night. What typically happens is that the first batter reaches on base and Jansen’s stuff just doesn’t look good. Even if it is not the first batter, you can tell when Jansen doesn’t have his best stuff.

You could tell that on Friday night when Jansen blew a two-run lead in two batters. I know nobody will believe this after the fact but I was watching the game with my buddy and called out that his stuff did not look good and it felt like it was going to be a blown save kind of game.

Even Roberts said that Jansen’s stuff was not good in that outing. And when you go back to his other blown saves, there is a trend and that trend is that his stuff does not look great. It’s noticeable, especially for Dave Roberts, who sees Jansen nearly every single day.

If Roberts recognizes this an October outing in a close game then the minute that the tying run gets to the plate (or on base if it is a one-run game), he needs to pull Jansen out. It is unique and not the most efficient, but it has to be done.

Whether that means carrying an extra arm or using a starter (like the Red Sox) to close out the game can be decided. But you can’t trust Jansen with flat stuff when the season is on the line.

Aside from his stuff not being good in a particular night, Jansen is not as good with runners on base. Opposing hitters are hitting .310 with a runner on first and less than two outs. That is terrible for a closer, there is no way around it.

Plus, his slow delivery makes him very susceptible to stolen bases. In high-leverage situations, which every ninth inning is, the last thing you want is for your pitcher to have the worry of a runner stealing second base occupying their mind.

If his stuff is there and someone reaches on an error or a weak dribbler that is one thing and you cannot have that short of a leash with him. It might sound trivial but Roberts and Rick Honeycutt know when his stuff is there and isn’t there. They can make that call.

However, if the Los Angeles Dodgers want to win the World Series, Dave Roberts has to not worry about upsetting Kenley Jansen and pull the plug before the situation goes down in flames, not before it.