Kenley Jansen Looking To Hit ‘Dream’ Milestone With Ex-Red Sox Closer

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen isn’t done raising the bar, not only for him but also for a fellow legendary (ex-Boston) closer too.

Much like attending a mega-party in the Hamptons, the All-Star Game allows baseball’s brightest stars to come together and share the stage once a year. For some, it’s a reuniting of former teammates. For others, like Jansen, it’s an avenue to not only play recruiter and represent Boston but to also establish a new milestone aim on behalf of former Red Sox hurler Craig Kimbrel.

Both pitching in their age 35 seasons, Jansen and Kimbrel both reached the 400-save club, becoming the seventh and eighth pitchers to ever do so respectively. Yet, Jansen doesn’t see any reason to leave it at that.

“I told him, we’re not stopping here,” Jansen said Tuesday, according to Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We’re going to 500 saves.”

Being that there have only been two closers in the history of Major League Baseball to surpass the 500-save mark — Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601) — pursuing that feat would pose quite the challenge for both All-Star right-handers. However, not one that Jansen won’t stop envisioning any time soon.

“That’s my dream,” Jansen shared. “I want to see both of us reach 500 saves. I think that’s a great accomplishment. The game is hard. Sometimes we go down and sometimes we’re on top. But it would be a wonderful for both of us.”

With 409 career saves from Jansen and 408 to Kimbrel’s credit, they’re each just short of 100 left in order to get there, which means retirement wouldn’t be in either of their cards anytime soon if No. 500 was indeed the goal in mind. Granted, Rivera and Hoffman both retired in their 40s.

Kimbrel, who spent three seasons with the Red Sox, has recorded 14 saves alongside a 3.41 ERA with the Philadelphia Phillies this season, converting all opportunities. When catching wind of Jansen’s goal for the two, Kimbrel gave it the thumbs up of approval.

“Sure, let’s do it,” Kimbrel responded, per Coffey.

As for Jansen and Kimbrel, the only thing standing in their way is the race against Father Time.