Red Sox’s Cora: Pitch timer gives Jansen unexpected edge

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Kenley Jansen is used to working at his own pace.

He has no problem saying that he’s been “the slowest guy in the league,” and it’s not hyperbole, either.

In 2022, the two-time Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year was the slowest of all qualified pitchers when he worked with runners on base, with a 31.4 pitch tempo (25.4 timer equivalent), and 57.4% Slow Rate that ranked second-worst. With the bases empty, his 25.6 pitch tempo (19.6 timer eq.) ranked third-slowest, but his 22.3% Slow Rate topped the charts.

On the surface, this makes the Red Sox signing him for the first MLB season with a pitch clock confusing. Pitchers who go over the time limit cost their team automatic balls and strikes; just by being the pitcher he’s been for 13 big league seasons, he could hurt his team.

But as Red Sox manager Alex Cora pointed out on Wednesday, there’s another, far more intriguing way of looking at it:

Jansen’s never had to pitch on the clock before, but no one’s ever faced this version of him, either.

“Hitters are used to him being slow,” the manager said. “He’s one of the greatest closers in the history of the game.”

The three-time AllStar and 2020 World Series champion, who led the National League with 54 games finished and 41 saves last season, spent the offseason working with a pitch clock to ready himself for the change. He’s also abstaining from pitching for Team Netherlands in the WBC, at least for the early rounds.

After one of the veteran righty’s sessions earlier in the week, Cora announced that Jansen had been right on time every time.

At 35 years old and heading into his 14th season, meet the new Kenley Jansen.