Kenley Jansen agrees to a deal with the Angels in a return to Southern California

Kenley Jansen is returning to Southern California, the veteran closer agreeing to terms on Tuesday to a one-year, $10-million contract with the Angels pending a physical, according to a person familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Jansen, a 37-year-old right-hander, is baseball’s active leader in saves (447) and appearances (871), the majority of those coming during his 12-year stint with the Dodgers, when he went 37-26 with a 2.37 ERA and 350 saves in 701 games from 2010 to 2021.

After the Dodgers let the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Jansen go, Jansen signed a one-year, $16-million deal with the Atlanta Braves, going 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA and a National League-leading 41 saves in 2022.

Jansen then signed a two-year, $32-million deal with the Boston Red Sox, going 7-8 with a 3.44 ERA and 80 saves in 2023 and 2024, striking out 114 and walking 37 in 99.1 innings for a 1.158 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning).

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He went 4-2 with a 3.29 ERA in 54 games last season, converting 27 of 31 save opportunities, striking out 62 and walking 20 in 54⅔ innings before missing the final week of the season because of shoulder inflammation.

Though the average velocity of Jansen’s fastball is down from its peak of 95.3 mph in 2016 to 92.2 mph last season, his cut-fastball is still effective, with Jansen limiting opponents to a .215 average (34 for 158) in at-bats ending with his signature pitch in 2024. Opponents were also hitless in 15 at-bats ending with Jansen’s 82.2-mph slider.

His best year with the Dodgers came in 2017, when Jansen went 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA and 41 saves in 65 games, striking out 109 and walking seven in 68⅓ innings.

The addition of Jansen to a young and experienced Angels bullpen will allow the team to give flame-throwing 24-year-old right-hander Ben Joyce, whose fastball touched 105 mph while going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and four saves in 31 games last season, another year to grow into the closer role.

Joyce and left-hander Brock Burke, who went 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA in 21 games after being claimed off waivers from Texas in August, are expected to be the primary setup men for the Angels, who will hold their first workout for pitchers and catchers in Tempe, Ariz., on Wednesday.

The team will also be leaning on 26-year-old right-handers Hans Crouse and Ryan Zeferjahn, who have combined for 39 career major league appearances, to pitch in high-leverage situations while awaiting the return of right-hander Robert Stephenson from Tommy John surgery.