Closing the ranks: Tigers' bullpen working through Kenley Jansen's early-season struggles

Rain split the Detroit Tigers' attempts at relief.

On April 24, the Cincinnati Reds started to rally from a five-run deficit when Matt McLain beat the rain by clubbing a two-run homer off starter Framber Valdez. Following a delay of one hour, 49 minutes, the Tigers' troubled bullpen took over. 

The relief corps got doused. 

For the third time in their opening 27 games, the Tigers lost a game after leading by at least five runs. 

The Tigers did not lose a game in 2025 after leading by at least three runs.

Pressure continues to build, especially on 17-year veteran Kenley Jansen.

Tigers in need of late-inning support from closer Kenley Jansen

Signing Jansen to a one-year, $11 million free-agent deal last offseason, the Tigers added a potential future Hall of Famer to the backend of their bullpen. The Los Angeles Dodgers' all-time saves leader (350), Jansen ranked third all-time with 482 career saves.

The 38-year-old right-hander also compiled 64 blown saves in 943 appearances. This season, he has three blown saves in 10 games. In 2025, Jansen posted 29 saves and one blown save for the Los Angeles Angels. 

As a unit, the Tigers' bullpen entered Friday's series opener against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park with seven blown saves. Despite the lapse in relief efforts, the Tigers (16-16) were tied with the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central. 

Did Jansen get the afternoon off Thursday?

Or are the Tigers auditioning new closer candidates?

Kyle Finnegan, 34, received the first call and closed out the 5-2 series-finale victory over the Braves at Truist Park. Finnegan earned his first save with the Tigers and 112th of his seven-year big league career.

Finnegan, who has a 0.57 earned-run average in 15 games, worked Thursday after throwing 29 pitches the previous night. Jansen's ERA spiked to 6.14.

"We're pretty beat up in the 'pen," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, as reported by The Associated Press. "We're going through a couple of things. So, we've sadi we're going to go in different ways."