The Los Angeles Dodgers are no strangers to roster turnover. Since Andrew Friedman took over as the team’s president of baseball operations in 2014, he has traded Matt Kemp — once considered a face of the franchise — not once but twice. The second of those trades also involved Yasiel Puig, as both were dealt to the Cincinnati Reds last December.
Kenley Jansen is one of the few Dodgers to have remained with the team throughout their entire streak of six straight National League West championships. Therefore, he is quite familiar with facing ex-teammates who are still friends.
Jansen did so again on Monday night, facing Puig and Kemp in the ninth inning with a tied game and a runner in scoring position. Jansen got Puig to fly out, but Kemp hit an RBI single to give the Reds the lead.
However, Joc Pederson’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning bailed Jansen out and gave the Dodgers the win. The experience of facing former teammates is still unique for Jansen, as he told SportsNetLA:
“Oh, always. Matt came back here last year and even before, it’s still strange to see Matthew hit against me. Even Puig, they’re both my boys. It’s kind of strange watching them. I tried not to make eye contact. It’s kind of weird, man, to see Puig and Matt out there in another uniform. But, yeah, I’ve got to do the job.”
Before Monday’s game, Jansen crashed Puig’s first press conference at Dodger Stadium since Puig was dealt to the Reds, throwing a football in his old friend’s direction. Jansen has largely spoken positively about Puig while many other Dodgers, including manager Dave Roberts, have expressed criticism towards how the outfielder carried himself both during and after his time in Los Angeles.
Both Puig and Kemp, though, have constantly expressed their appreciation for Dodgers fans since leaving L.A. and did so again on Monday.
