Tigers’ Kenley Jansen gets 100% real on possibly making Hall of Fame

Veteran reliever Kenley Jansen signed with the Detroit Tigers this offseason on a one-year contract. The 38-year-old will continue his impressive career for a 17th season in the Motor City. And he has a chance to achieve some impressive milestones with Detroit. If he can reach those goals, a spot in Cooperstown could be his.

Jansen is entering the 2026 season with 476 career saves. This places him fourth all-time in MLB history. 24 saves with the Tigers will see him become just the third closer to achieve 500 career saves. Jansen has had an illustrious career, and he recently spoke about the possibility of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“I just play this game that I love. I play hard, and I want to help my team, help them win. All these things come with being successful. Just hearing my name get tied up to (the Hall of Fame) just gives me much more inspiration and grinding in the weight room,” the Tigers reliever said on Foul Territory TV on Friday.

Jansen spent last season with the Los Angeles Angels. The veteran hurler struggled to begin the 2025 campaign. Ironically, it was a poor outing against the Tigers that seemingly turned his season around. After giving up six runs to Detroit on May 2nd, he pitched to a pristine 1.97 ERA the rest of the way.

Jansen is hoping to help a young Detroit team get over the postseason hump. They have made the postseason in each of the last two seasons. However, they have fallen in Game 5 of the American League Division Series both times. It will certainly be interesting to see how Jansen performs on a World Series hopeful in 2026.

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