Latest Ron Washington reunion is another missed opportunity for the Braves

The Atlanta Braves have had a decent offseason. They filled one major need by signing Jurickson Profar, but other than that, have been mostly quiet. They have not addressed their rotation despite losing Max Fried and Charlie Morton, and have not addressed their bullpen despite losing Joe Jimenez for potentially the entire 2025 season due to a knee injury.

Not only did the Braves miss out on Kenley Jansen, a reliever who would have fit quite nicely in Jimenez's place in Atlanta's bullpen, but they missed out on him to former third base coach Ron Washington's Los Angeles Angels, according to Jon Heyman of the NY Post.

Instead of joining a team that can seriously compete for the World Series, Jansen becomes the latest player, joining Jorge Soler and Travis d'Arnaud, to reunite with Washington in Anaheim.

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Braves lose out on another useful player to Ron Washington

The Soler and d'Arnaud losses didn't really sting. Atlanta traded Soler mainly to offload his salary, and replaced him with a better player in Profar. Losing d'Arnaud hurt, but Atlanta non-tendered him to save money and potentially open up some playing time for top prospect Drake Baldwin. Losing Jansen, however, a reliever who could have really helped in Atlanta, does sting.

Jansen, one of the greatest closers of this era, spent the 2022 campaign with the Braves and wound up leading the league in games finished (54) and saves (41) while posting a 3.38 ERA in 65 appearances. He isn't the star he once was, but even last season, he posted a 3.29 ERA in 54 appearances and 54.2 innings of work for the Boston Red Sox, converting 27 of his 31 save opportunities.

While the Braves would have given Jansen a better opportunity to win, it isn't hard to see why the right-hander wound up choosing the Angels. They can give him the opportunity to close games, while the Braves have Raisel Iglesias in that role. Jansen reportedly is hoping to record 500 saves by the time he retires, and he's currently 53 away from achieving that goal. Joining the Angels can help him get roughly halfway there, while setting up for the Braves or a different contending team wouldn't help him at all.

Still, losing on Jansen, especially on very reasonable terms, does sting for a Braves team that still has more work to do. Their bullpen, even without Jimenez, is not bad, but the Braves could definitely use another arm. Jansen was one of the best ones out there, and he has done well in Atlanta in the past. However, it's hard to blame him for choosing to close games in Southern California for the beloved Washington.