The Boston Red Sox missed the playoffs for the third consecutive time this season, but that doesn't mean the end of their season was boring. Clubhouse conflict took center stage after Boston's postseason elimination.
Kenley Jansen departed from Fenway Park before the team's second-to-last game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, Sept. 28. The closer's season ended early after he was moved to the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation on Sept. 23. Still, many of Boston's other injured players remained with the team to the end.
Some Red Sox players anonymously shared their reactions to Jansen's early exit, and most were disappointed but not surprised by his decamping. The initial report of players' statements brought forth another from manager Alex Cora, who said he told Jansen to go home. Jansen corroborated that statement the following day on an episode of the "Baseball isn't Boring" podcast.
"Of course, I've been dealing with my shoulder the last couple of weeks of inflammation and all that," he said to podcast host and reporter Rob Bradford. "That's what it was, it's nothing big. We came to an agreement that I think it's best to put me on the IL to let that shoulder recover. That's pretty much it, when we got eliminated, they agreed that I could go home."
Morning podcast: Finding out what's what with Kenley Jansen. @bradfo catches up with the closer to get his take on the final week with the Red Sox, his injury and his future.
— Baseball Isn’t Boring (@BBisntBoring) September 30, 2024
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Kenley Jansen addresses early Red Sox departure in podcast appearance
Jansen finished his statement with the words "No biggie, all love," but his teammates don't seem to agree. Cora defended Jansen's absence by saying there was "other stuff going on with him," but the closer's statement made it clear that the "other stuff" was just that he wanted to leave.
If Jansen had an emergency in his personal life, he should be able to leave the team with no consequence. But as one of the most experienced players on the team, one of the highest paid and one of the greatest closers of all time, there's no excuse for ditching the team with two days to go.
Sure, Jansen is an impending free agent who will probably never pitch another game in a Red Sox uniform, and sure, he's injured, so there was no way he'd be thrown into a game, but leaving the team early is a bad precedent and a bad look for anyone going into free agency. There are only a few teams that would be in on Jansen anyway due to his price, but his attitude may have made his free agency a bit harder. There probably aren't too many ballclubs itching to pay an arm and a leg for a player who leaves the team early in times of adversity or forgets players' names.
In Jansen's interview with Bradford, he said the city of Boston deserves "nothing but the best." But disrespecting his Sox teammates and fans by leaving the team early is a strange, flawed way to show appreciation for the city as free agency looms.