Angels' $10 Million All-Star Could Be 'Popular Trade Target' Says Insider

The Los Angeles Angels made a number of veteran offseason acquisitions last winter in an effort to fortify a roster that lost 99 games in 2024. One of the Halos' top signings was right-handed pitcher Kenley Jansen.

Jansen has a 6.55 ERA with 11 strikeouts, three walks, and a 1.455 WHIP across 11 innings pitched. The veteran's ERA ballooned after an appearance on May 2 against the Detroit Tigers, where he gave up six earned runs in 0.2 innings.

The Angels began the season as one of the most home run happy teams in the league with a 8-4 record, and at some point led the majors in homers. Things looked promising, even with the Angels' best player from 2024 Zach Neto on the injured list to open the season.

Almost two full months into the season, the Angels are last in the American League West and six games behind the division-leading Mariners.

The beginning of the 2025 campaign looked like the Angels had turned a corner following a decade of consecutive losing seasons; however, with Mike Trout on the injured list, Ben Joyce out for the remainder of the season, and a below-average lineup, the Angels season already looks to be heading toward disappointment.

With that being said, the front office could use the Angels' recent failures as a reason for dealing Jansen at the deadline. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter suggests the closer could be a popular commodity on the trade market.

"Closer Kenley Jansen, who's playing on a one-year, $10 million contract, could also be a popular trade target this summer," Reuter writes.

Trading Jansen would be certainly be an avenue to lower payroll, but it would also mean the loss of the team's closer and a veteran in the clubhouse.

“I’m at the point in my life that I’m going to bring my wisdom to this team and hopefully we can turn things around and make this organization good again,” Jansen said to The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher. “I think we’ve got a great team. We had a rough three weeks. You just have to look at how we played in the first two weeks of the season and bounce back. I think we’ll be fine.”