Kenley Jansen expects to have heart surgery in the offseason
Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen may need heart surgery in the offseason. The 30-year-old is currently on the disabled list with an irregular heartbeat, but expects to pitch again this season. Once the year is over, however, Jansen may need to undergo a procedure on his heart, according to ESPN.
It would be the second heart surgery Jansen has undergone since he’s been in the majors. Jansen had a similar surgery in 2012.
This is not a new medical issue for the reliever. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said it’s a “pre-existing condition.” Both the team and Jansen are aware of the issue. Friedman said he believes Jansen and the team caught the issue much sooner than last time.
Jansen is expected to undergo a catheter ablation, which involves using a catheter to make scars in heart tissue to prevent an irregular heartbeat. While that sounds intense, Jansen might be able to leave the hospital a few hours after having the procedure.
In both instances, Jansen experienced symptoms when the team visited Colorado. Don’t expect that to keep Jansen from traveling there in the future, though.
Kenley Jansen: “I’m going back to Denver, man. You can’t be scared of life.”
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 13, 2018
On Aug. 20, Jansen will have a follow up appointment to determine his progress. He won’t pitch until that appointment, but expressed confidence that he would be back on the mound soon.
Jansen has been sidelined since early August due to the issue. After a rocky start to the season, he’s bounced back, posting a 2.15 ERA over 54 1/3 innings.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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