It’s hard to imagine the Dodgers without the players that are impending free agents. One of those players is Kenley Jansen who reinvented himself to dominate the second half of the season after struggling in the first half. His ability to show everyone that he can still be a great closer might have intrigued a few teams looking for a new closer for their bullpen.
He finished off the year with a 4-4 record, a 2.22 ERA, and 38 saves in 43 opportunities.
Any team wanting to sign him would have to compete with the Dodgers for his services, but would Los Angeles be willing to bring him back? LA Times writer Jorge Castillo believes the team would be willing to bring him back depending on the price.
“The Dodgers are open to bringing back Jansen but they’re unlikely to pay a premium for a 34-year-old closer with so many other holes to fill on the roster.”
Re-signing Jansen would help maintain the back end of the bullpen for the next couple of years, but at what cost? The Dodgers won’t have much room before hitting the luxury tax. They also have Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Chris Taylor, and a handful of others they could retain as well as a whole market of free agents.
With that being said, if Jansen’s asking price is too high, the Dodgers could easily turn to their internal options of Blake Treinen or Brusdar Graterol which would be a lot cheaper. At this point, Kenley’s return will boil down to how bad does he want to return to Los Angeles and how willing will he be to accept a lower salary.
The answer to those two questions should determine if he wears the iconic white and blue next season.
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