Kenley Jansen dealing with injury, but Tigers closer avoids IL

The Tigers expect Jansen to avoid the injured list.

"He is still working his way through," Hinch said. "He is day-to-day, which means I'm going to check with him daily and see what he's feeling. We're comfortable with the diagnosis, the treatment, and he's bouncing back a little bit better, but he's been unavailable. I think he's in a better place today than he was yesterday. We'll see how that factors into whether I can use him tonight."

In 2026, Jansen has a 6.14 ERA with four walks and nine strikeouts across 7⅓ innings in 10 games, racking up six saves in nine opportunities.

The Tigers signed Jansen – a 17-year MLB veteran approaching 500 saves in his Hall of Fame-caliber career – to a one-year, $9 million contract for the 2026 season, which includes a $12 million club option (with a $2 million buyout) for 2027.

"We're obviously comfortable enough to leave him off the injured list," Hinch said.

This story will be updated.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers closer Kenley Jansen injured but considered day-to-day