Red Sox players reportedly disappointed with Jansen’s departure

The Red Sox 2024 season officially ended Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

But Boston’s All-Star closer, Kenley Jansen, left Fenway Park a few days early.

Alex Cora revealed Friday that Jansen “went home” ahead of Boston’s final series of the 2024 campaign – just days after the team was finally eliminated from the playoffs.

Although Jansen was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation last Sunday and was not expected to pitch the rest of the year, his early absence before the end of the game 162 was still an interesting move from one of the few veterans in the clubhouse.

And according to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, Jansen’s decision to pack up before the end of the 2024 season has angered several of his teammates.

Several players, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed disappointment at Jansen’s early departure, although one added: “I can’t say I’m too surprised.” Jansen was known to be somewhat distant during his time with the Sox, sometimes unsure of the names of certain teammates,” McAdam wrote.

“According to a Red Sox player, Jansen walked into the training room last Sunday before his team’s doubleheader with the Minnesota Twins and announced that he would pitch in Game 1 and that would be that. Indeed, oddly enough, he pitched the top of the ninth inning of a game in which the Sox led by eight runs. He then told reporters he was done pitching the season and suggested they confirm it with the team.

Speaking before the season finale in Boston on Sunday, Cora was asked about Jansen’s departure, as well as whether the nameplate above Jansen’s locker had already been removed.

“I told Kenley to go home,” Cora said. “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.

Jansen closed his second season in Boston with a 3.29 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 54.2 innings of work. The 36-year-old made 27 saves in 31 opportunities and finished with 56 saves in 64 total opportunities during his tenure with the Red Sox.

Given Jansen’s early departure, his pending free agency and his candid comments about Boston’s quiet offseason earlier this winter, the writing is on the wall that the longtime reliever threw his final pitch under a Red Sox jersey.

“I feel really frustrated,” Jansen told WEEI’s Rob Bradford during spring training. “I came here for two years, the first year we were going to compete, but by the second year they were really going to go for it. I understand, there have been a lot of changes in this organization. They now have a different vision. I understand. It’s part of business. But at the same time, I still have one year left here and I’m going to give the fans my best.