All-Star closer Kenley Jansen got accustomed to playing baseball in October, having been in the postseason in each of the past 10 years. However, his streak will end in 2023 after the Boston Red Sox were eliminated from playoff contention, and it is safe to say that Jansen isn’t happy about it.
Jansen made it clear how he feels about the Red Sox’s shortcomings during a recent appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.
“Ten straight years in the playoffs,” Jansen said. “Frustrating. Disappointment. All come together. Not happy. To be quite honest for you, I don’t know how to play for numbers. I only know how to compete for a championship. That’s me just being honest.”
Jansen is particularly frustrated with the fact that the Red Sox had a passive approach to the trade deadline and believes the team’s inability to add help to the roster is what caused them to miss out on the postseason.
“We do have a great team, and if we would have a couple of starters we wouldn’t be talking about this right now,” Jansen said. “We would be playing in a Wild Card game right now … It’s definitely frustrating.”
The Red Sox currently sit at a 76-81 record and will most likely finish at the bottom of the AL East. Poor performances in the 2023 season already caused the franchise to make some big changes, firing chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom earlier in September.
Jansen spent the first 10 years of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning the World Series with the franchise in 2020. He spent the 2022 season with the Atlanta Braves before inking a two-year contract with the Red Sox ahead of this season.
