LOS ANGELES – For Kenley Jansen, this was weird. He had arrived to work at Dodger Stadium many, many times before, but never as a visitor.
“I got lost for a second,” Jansen said. “I saw the signs that said, ‘Bullpen.’ Then I was like, ‘That’s not the place for me.’”
In a place he called home since 2010, Jansen had to ask where to go. Such is life in a transition like this.
Just as Freddie Freeman spoke with reporters about switching sides in the Braves-Dodgers matchup, so did Jansen. Before he talked to reporters in an interview room here, he spent some time in his old clubhouse with his former teammates.
It is clear he has so much love for Los Angeles and the Dodgers.
But Jansen also made sure to make this known: He’s happy with his current situation.
“Right now, it’s all about appreciating where I’m at and enjoying where I’m at,” he said. “I’m grateful to be in a Braves uniform and excited to be with my new teammates, new fans. Right now I’m just trying to focus on one day at a time.”
In 12 seasons with the Dodgers, Jansen pitched to a 2.37 ERA and accumulated 350 saves. He became one of the game’s elite closers.
He played with Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner and others. Now he shares a clubhouse with Max Fried, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and the rest of the Braves.
“The only thing I knew was being a Dodger,” Jansen said. “I got to give a lot of credit to my teammates with the Braves. They opened (up) to me with a warm welcome. It’s been fun. It’s a great group of guys. Like I said, when we come to the ballpark, trying to win ballgames, play hard everyday but also enjoying it. I enjoy it in the clubhouse, on and off the field. It’s a special group. Being a part of that, we’re just trying to do something special.”
Jansen has already gotten a decent feel for Braves fans. He said he was nervous because in his Braves debut at Truist Park, he allowed three runs on three hits over an inning because of some soft contact. “But the support was awesome,” he said. “Then I got back out there two days later and the fans were excited to see me there, and I was excited to be there.”
Jansen said it was an emotional day when he realized he would no longer be playing with the Dodgers. The timing didn’t seem to work out, as he alluded to in spring training.
When Jansen was heading to Dodger Stadium on Monday, “a lot of things” went through his mind, he said. “The adrenaline is definitely up today because you’re back in Dodger Stadium with familiar faces, great fans here,” he said. “It’s fun to play here.”
But he also thought about his current opportunity.
“We’re trying to do something special, try to win a championship,” Jansen said.
Braves to continue with six-man rotation for now
Braves manager Brian Snitker on Monday said the club will likely use a six-man rotation after its first off day on Thursday.
Snitker said it will be tougher to use a six-man rotation past May 1, though. That’s when rosters go from 28 to 26 players.
By then, the manager thinks pitchers will be fully up to speed after a short spring.
“We’ll still continue to do that,” he said. “We’ve done it the last couple years, three years, whenever we had an opportunity to do that. I think it’s fared pretty well for us keeping them good for the year.”
Asked about the state of his pitching staff, Snitker said: “I kind of feel like everything’s in a pretty good spot. I don’t think we’ve beat up any relievers, we’ve let those guys have ample time in between. And the starters, I kind of feel like they’re all in a pretty good spot. Honestly, we’d probably still be in spring training normally, but they’re all probably a start of way from just turning it loose.”
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