Yankees Target $29 Million Future Hall of Fame Reliever in Swipe at Rival: Rumor

Even as most of the intrigue surrounding the remaining weeks of the New York Yankees; offseason has centered around their ongoing quest to replace lost free agent second baseman Gleyber Torres, the defending American League champions continue working to solidify their bullpen.

Their trade for former Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams was considered a coup. The 30-year-old former Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star relief ace was widely believed to be bound for the Los Angeles Dodgers when the Bronx Bombers swooped in and stopped their World Series rivals from acquiring him. But beyond Williams — who is coming off a serious back injury that limited him to 21 2/3 innings last season — the Yankees bullpen depth remains questionable.

The Yankees will be relying on journeyman Jake Cousins to repeat his 2024 career year performance. They are also counting on another journeyman, Luke Weaver, to extend his stellar September throughout an entire season. But Weaver in nine full seasons has posted an ERA+ above the league average of 100 just three times.

Newley acquired Fernando Cruz is a strikeout specialist but also prone the long ball. His HR/FB (home-run-to-fly-ball) ratio of 17.6 percent last season was well above the 10 percent that is considered the MLB standard by Fangraphs.

Red Sox Loss Could be Yankees Gain in the Bullpen

Beyond those names, the Yankees will be relying on such moving parts as Mark Leiter Jr. and Ian Hamilton to get the game to Williams. That will likely give the Yankees otherwise strong starting rotation added workload and pressure that could cause a sharp decline as the season moves into the stretch run.

But the latest rumored Yankees bullpen target brings proven Hall of Fame credentials, and signing him would also serve as a shot across the bow at the Yankees’ divisional arch-rival, the Boston Red Sox.

Kenley Jansen is 37 years old, coming off two solid years with the Red Sox in which he saved 29 and 27 games respectively — on a team that won only 78 and 81 in those years of 2023 and 2024.

With 447 saves, Jansen ranks fourth on the all-time list. He needs 32 more to pass Lee Smith for sole possession of third place — credentials that already should guarantee him a place in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Smith was inducted in 2019. Dennis Eckersley with 390 saves entered in 2004.

Jansen would likely be relegated to a set-up man role behind Williams on the Yankees, limiting his save opportunities and his shot at passing Smith, a prospect that has not appealed to him in the past.

Jansen Must be Sold on Chance For a Championship

“I close ballgames, man,” he told a reporter last season. “I’m getting close to another milestone. I’m closing down, trying to get to 500 saves. That’s still very important to me.”

On the other hand, when he departed the Red Sox and entered free agency, Jansen said that in the years he had remaining in his career, he wanted to play on a title-contending team. The Yankees, who went to their 41st World Series last year, are certainly that.

The other question would be Jansen’s price tag. Spotrac sets his market value at $29.5 million over a two year contract, and he just completed a two-year, $32 million deal with the Red Sox.

Could the Yankees persuade him to take less money and a one-year deal for one more shot at a World Series championship? Jansen has one on his resumé, but it came in the shortened and very strange 2020 COVID-hampered season.

Winning in New York with baseball’s most storied franchise would need to be at the heart of the Yankees’ sales pitch to Jansen, who with the signing of Tanner Scott by the Dodgers now remains as the top free agent reliever still without a 2025 home.