Former Dodgers Closer Breaks Silence After Cleaning Out His Locker Earlier

When the Boston Red Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays for the final series of the regular season, former Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was nowhere to be found.

The Boston closer’s locker was empty without his badge raising the question of whether he would be there for the final pitch of 2024.

“He went home,” Cora revealed before the game on Friday. “I spoke to him this week. As soon as it was over, two days ago, he wasn’t going to throw. There’s other things we’ve talked about, there’s other things going on with him, so yeah.

The Red Sox officially placed Jansen on injured reserve on Monday due to right shoulder inflammation, which is why Jansen decided to return home to Los Angeles.

Jansen broke his silence Sunday on the Baseball Is’t Boring podcast.

“AC and I had a conversation and we both agreed,” Jansen said. “That’s how it was, nothing too serious.”

Jansen said there was nothing to dig into. He left simply because he was on the IL and his manager told him to go home.

“I told Kenley to go home,” Cora told reporters, according to MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “So if they are upset, they should come to my office and ask me. We talked during the week. There are other things going on with Kenley too. But the manager decided for him, “Hey, we don’t have any more.” So if you want to go home, go home. And he returned home.

It was an abrupt end to his time in Boston, but Jansen is turning the page and looking ahead to the offseason and free agency.

“I’m just going to enjoy the process,” he said. “The process is getting up at 5:45 a.m., training, taking my kids to school, coming back, training in my gym again, going out on the field, playing catch. When necessary, I throw out my enclosure. I’m just going to enjoy this game, enjoy the offseason and prepare for a successful 2025 season. I think this is my fourth time as a free agent. … I’m just going to enjoy getting ready for the season. I know my agent is going to do a great job. Wherever I land, I’ll be ready.

Will he miss pitching in Boston and playing for the Red Sox?

“Of course I will miss them. Why not? Of course I will miss them. This is a city that deserves to win. It’s a city that deserves championships there. … It’s a city of champions. They deserve only the best.

Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

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