Kenley Jansen Making Huge Impact on Angels' Breakout Reliever

The Los Angeles Angels didn't just sign Kenley Jansen for his dominance on the mound.

Although he has been a formidable force closing out games since 2010, the impact that he is having on some of the young Halos in the clubhouse is something that can impact the team on Jansen's off nights as well.

Ryan Zeferjahn, a 26-year-old reliever who is still establishing himself in the majors, spoke highly on not just having Jansen as a teammate, but being able to have open communication with the closer on how to improve his game.

“It’s the best,” Zeferjahn said. “There are some guys that aren’t like that and that sucks. But when you have those guys, you use them. And you don’t even have to talk to them, just watch and see how he approaches the game, how he gets ready, warming up. I watch a lot of that and that’s the biggest part.”

Jansen has 452 career saves to his name and is chasing history as he is 26 saves away from No. 3 on the all time list. Zeferjahn has just one save in his young career, but with Ben Joyce hitting the injured list earlier this month, there have been more opportunities for him to pitch later into games.

“It’s come fast,” Zeferjahn said. “They gained trust, and that’s big for me. Having that success last year when I was in the zone, I worked all offseason, then came in again in the zone and stuff was better. Them gaining trust in me has just given me more confidence.”

Manager Ron Washington spoke on not just Zeferjahn's pitching ability, but his mindset with his continued success to start off 2025.

“He’s been able to come in and get the outs we need, and that’s exactly what his job is,” Washington said. “We know he has the stuff. We’re beginning to find out he has the mentality now. We need him to get certain outs in certain areas of the game, and he’s been doing it.”

Perhaps the availability of Jansen to the young reliever is helping out with more intangibles and the mental aspect on the mound. As far as Zeferjahn's pitching is this season, he has 14 strikeouts, three walks, and three earned runs through nine games.