Sep 1, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Casey Janssen (44) throws to a St. Louis Cardinals batter during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Nationals 8-5. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Casey Janssen: 2015 Stats: 2-5 W/L 48 G, 40 IP, 38 H, 8 BB, 27 K, 4.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 4.08 FIP.
A nine-year veteran right-hander who is now 34-years-old. Janssen has been a familiar face to Red Sox fans since the first eight years of his career was spent in the American League East with the Toronto Blue Jays. Of note is a 0-2 record at Fenway Park with a 3.10 ERA in 20.1 innings. Janssen also was a closer for the Jays for three seasons with a total of 81 saves in those three seasons. Janssen also registered 10 blown saves in that time frame.
Janssen features a two and four seam fastball (91-93 MPH), slider, curve, and a change. Janssen’s GB% has dropped steadily in the last three seasons from 47.9% to 29.4%, but the HR/9 has not increased dramatically. Last season Janssen also posted a BABIP of .264 versus his career .288 BABIP.
An issue with Janssen has been health – especially a back problem that has occasionally surfaced. Add in a ground ball rate that is not impressive and that could mean problems within the friendly confines of Fenway Park.
Janssen is a risk item, but he has a wealth of experience is all aspects of pitching at the MLB level including 19 career starts. A seasoned veteran who does not walk many with a career BB/9 of 2.2 that could hold down the lower end of the bullpen.