Dodgers, Kenley Jansen Reunion Continuing to Pick Up Steam
This offseason has been a dream for the Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans. The team addressed their starting pitching with Tyler Glasnow and three-time NPB MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They signed former All-Star and lefty masher Teoscar Hernández to shore up the outfield. On top of all that, Andrew Friedman landed his white whale, Shohei Ohtani.
Now, all that's left is to address the margins and continue to add to an already stacked roster. Recently, rumors of the Dodgers acquiring a closer have become a little louder. While Evan Phillips is more than capable of closing games, the team seems to prefer him as a setup man.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post believes Friedman could look towards the franchise's all-time leader in saves for their closer,
"Kenley Jansen, mentioned in the same report, is indeed available and wouldn’t look bad back in a Dodgers uniform. Evan Phillips is outstanding, but extra help wouldn’t hurt baseball’s superteam."
The Dodgers would need to trade for Kenley Jansen, who's in the final year of his two-year, $32 million with the Boston Red Sox. However, Jansen appears to be on the market.
Last year, the 36-year-old appeared in 51 games with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Interestingly, he threw his trademark cutter harder than he has since 2017. The year prior, he led the National League in saves with 41 while playing with the Atlanta Braves.
Jansen's 350 saves with the Dodgers lead the franchise and more than doubles that of second-place Eric Gagne (161). Jansen ranks seventh all-time with 420 saves, and he could climb a few rungs this year given the opportunity.
