Kenley Jansen, the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, recently signed a one-year contact with the Atlanta Braves. | Twitter/Everything Georgia
Kenley Jansen, the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, recently signed a one-year contact with the Atlanta Braves. | Twitter/Everything Georgia
Kenley Jansen, a pitcher, signed a one-year contract March 18 with the Atlanta Braves.
The deal is worth $16 million, according to MLB.
“It’s awesome to put this uniform on,” Jansen said, according to MLB.
Jansen grew up a fan of the Braves, and older brother and fellow Curacao native, Andruw Jones played for the Braves, MLB reported.
“This is where it all started for me," Jansen said, according to MLB. "This is where the hope started. This is where the dream to become a major leaguer started. Growing up, I was a big Fred McGriff fan, and then the next thing you know, Andruw Jones gets to the World Series and hits two home runs.”
Jansen signed to with Atlanta the same week that former longtime Brave Freddie Freeman left to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB reported.
Jansen finished last season with a 2.22 ERA with 38 saves in 69 games, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Jansen said his goal is to win a championship.
“It’s about how can we bring another championship to the Braves' fans,” Jansen said. “I’m here to do whatever we can to win ballgames.”
According to Baseball Reference, Jansen is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.
The Braves play the Toronto Blue Jays March 28, according to MLB.com.
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