Red Sox try to solve recent closer woes with Kenley Jansen deal

The Red Sox ranked middle of the pack (tied for 18th) in saves last season with 39 stops, but those came from nine different pitchers. No hurler on the team reached double figures in saves, as John Schreiber, Tanner Houck, and Matt Barnes tied for the team lead with eight apiece.

Barnes had 24 saves in his 2021 All-Star season and was expected to be the primary closer coming into the 2022 campaign, but he missed time with a shoulder injury and struggled through parts of the season when on the field. The 26-year-old Houck showed promise with a 3.15 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 60 innings last season but hurt the team with his decision not to get a COVID-19 vaccine, making him ineligible to play road games against the Toronto Blue Jays.

It may not be a coincidence that during each of Boston's four World Series championship seasons this millennium, they had a strong closer at the back of their bullpen.

In 2004, the team had standout stopper Keith Foulke and in 2007 they had All-Star Jonathan Papelbon. During the 2013 "Boston Strong" campaign, the Red Sox closer was Koji Uehara -- who finished seventh in that year's AL Cy Young voting and won the ALCS MVP -- and in 2018, they had former NL Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel.

Boston infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernandez expressed his excitement about the Jansen news on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Hernandez and Jansen -- a three-time All-Star -- were teammates with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2015 to 2020.