Casey Janssen

Casey Janssen

43-Year-Old PitcherP
 Free Agent  
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Casey Janssen in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
$Signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox in June of 2016.
Released by Red Sox
PFree Agent  
August 7, 2016
Janssen was released by the Red Sox on Sunday, Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Janssen exercised his right to opt out of his minor league deal with Boston and will look to join a major league roster somewhere else. He has not yet appeared in the majors this season, but has pitched decently in the minors, posting a 2.87 ERA over 15.2 combined innings at the Low-A and Triple-A levels.
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Signed over the winter to take the spot of Tyler Clippard as the Nationals' primary right-handed setup man, the former Blue Jays closer couldn't make it out of spring training without developing shoulder trouble, and when he returned to action in late May the Nats probably wished he had stayed off the mound. Janssen's strikeout, walk and home run rates were similar to 2014 (his FIP actually dropped from 4.14 to 4.08), but a plummeting groundball rate (a career-low 29.4 percent, down from 34.4 percent the year before and 47.9 percent in 2013) due to too many balls left in the heart of the strike zone resulted in more flyballs, more line drives, and a 4.95 ERA. The club declined to pick up his option, making him a free agent once again, and after two seasons of declining numbers he could have difficulty finding a major league contract. If he can regain his command he could become useful again, but his days of factoring into the saves equation are probably over.
Janssen entered 2014 on the lower end of the closer spectrum despite an impressive 2013 season in the role. His lack of dominant stuff plus the impending return of Sergio Santos had many believing his margin for error was thin. Then he began the season on the disabled list and didn’t have the kind of track record to automatically hold his job in the face of injury. Santos was brutal, so the Jays welcomed Janssen back in mid-May and immediately inserted him back into the role. He got off to an excellent start, taking a 1.23 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 14 saves in 22 innings into the All-Star break despite a two-mph drop in velocity for the second straight season. His average fastball was down to 89 mph, and it caught up to him in the second half (6.46 ERA) thanks to five multi-run outings. His secondary pitches struggled, too, and cast some doubt over him for this year, even accounting for the small sample of his second half. A free agent, he may not even have a closer’s role secured for 2015, and without that, he has no real fantasy value.
Janssen was one of the few bright spots for Toronto in 2013, finishing with a 2.56 ERA and 0.99 WHIP, while converting 34-of-36 save opportunities. He doesn't pile up strikeouts like some of the other top closers (8.5 K/9) but has better control (2.2 BB/9) than your average hard-throwing reliever. Even with Sergio Santos healthy, Janssen appears to be locked in to the closer's role with a bit of leeway to err for the start of 2014.
Janssen quietly had a very good season in 2011, posting a career high in ERA (2.26) and WHIP (1.10) but wasn't noticed by most fantasy owners until becoming the fill-in closer in 2012. For the second straight season, Janssen improved his WHIP (0.86) and his K/BB (6.09), now sitting at elite levels. Although Sergio Santos is expected to return to the mix during spring training, Janssen may have done enough to keep the ninth-inning role to begin the season in his absence.
Janssen was sidelined by a forearm strain in June but came back firing bullets, posting a 2.26 ERA and a 1.096 WHIP for the season in 55 games out of the bullpen. The command and control issues he had when coming up as a starter have all but vanished in his days as a reliever (2.3 BB/9IP, 3.79 K/BB last season) and he allowed just two homers in 55.2 innings last year. The Jays traded for Sergio Santos after they lead the American League in blown saves last season, so look for Janssen to slot in as a setup man again this time around.
The Blue Jays finally gave up on Janssen as a starting pitcher, and he responded well in his first full season out of the bullpen. He's not close to regular save chances and isn't dominant enough to be a staff filler to help fantasy teams in AL-only formats, but he'll be back in a middle-relief role with Toronto.
Janssen returned to the majors in 2009 after missing all of 2008 with a torn labrum, but he hit the DL with shoulder inflammation in June. He returned later in the season in a relief role and that would appear to be his role going forward. Even when healthy, Janssen has never been a big strikeout guy, although he did post an 8.4 K/9IP in 14 innings as a reliever last season. He'll need to prove he's healthy before the Jays decide what to do with him.
Janssen's season was short circuited when a shoulder injury in March required surgery to repair a torn labrum. Toronto is going to have some holes in the rotation to fill and Janssen will head into spring training with a goal of returning to a starting role. He'll need to miss a few more bats if he wants to survive pitching in the AL East, but his first priority is getting back to full health.
Janssen managed some tidy numbers (2.35 ERA, 1.197 WHIP) despite a rather lackluster 39:20 K:BB in 72.2 innings. Those poor peripherals don't result in solid seasons too often, and pitchers coming off such seasons make poor repeat performance candidates.
Janssen got an audition in the Toronto rotation due to a litany of injuries, but struggled in his 17 starts. A poor 44 strikeouts in 94 innings didn't help. There doesn't figure to be a spot in the Toronto rotation to begin the year when the dust settles.
A 2004 fourth-rounder out of UCLA, Janssen has progressed apace, finishing the year at Double-A New Hampshire. He posted solid peripherals there, and should reach Triple-A Syracuse by midseason.
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Shifts up to Triple-A
PBoston Red Sox  
August 1, 2016
Janssen has moved up to Triple-A Pawtucket, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
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Still with short-season Lowell
PBoston Red Sox  
July 8, 2016
Janssen has allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six in six innings for short-season Lowell.
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PBoston Red Sox  
June 15, 2016
Janssen signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox on Wednesday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
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PSan Diego Padres  
March 24, 2016
Janssen was granted his release from the Padres on Thursday.
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PSan Diego Padres  
February 20, 2016
Janssen signed a minor league deal with the Padres that includes an invitation to spring training.
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