Former Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks died Friday after a battle with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer. Jenks was 44 years old.

The two-time All-Star and 2005 World Series champion revealed his condition during a February 2025 interview with MLB.com from a hospital bed in Portugal, where he moved to be closer to his wife’s family.

Jenks spent six of his seven MLB seasons with the White Sox. He posted back-to-back 40-save seasons in 2006 and 2007 and compiled 86 saves over his final three seasons in Chicago, but is most famous in the South Side for closing out the Fall Classic in 2005, with a future pope in attendance for Game 1.

Advertisement

During the 2007 season, Jenks retired 47 consecutive batters. He spent the 2011 season, his last in MLB, with the Boston Red Sox.

In May 2021, Jenks began working as the pitching coach for the minor-league Grand Junction Rockies. The next season, he was promoted to manager and won the league’s Manager of the Year award after helping the team win a championship.

Jenks spent the 2023 season as the Princeton WhistlePigs’ pitching coach before he returned to managing with the Windy City ThunderBolts later that year.

A father of six, Jenks and his wife, Eleni, moved to Portugal in October 2024. Not long after they relocated, he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and later dealt with multiple blood clots in his lungs. Early in 2025, he noticed that his energy level was decreasing, and after testing at a local hospital, it was discovered that a tumor had formed in his chest.

Advertisement

Jenks told MLB.com that the tumor spread into his stomach lining, his bones, his lower back and his hips.

As Jenks was dealing with his health battle, his family was affected by the Palisades fire, which caused them to lose their home and personal belongings, except for his 2005 World Series ring.

“I’ve got one suitcase left to my name,” Jenks said. “It’s all gone. Everything else I’ve ever done. I have everything, first to first. All those things are irreplaceable.”