Dodgers, Jansen Have Not Talked About New Deal

This past offseason was a whirlwind for Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. There was almost a deal between the team and the Cincinnati Reds for stud closer Aroldis Chapman, and it could have rubbed Jansen the wrong way. It appears that it did not, though.

On top of that, Jansen entered arbitration for the final year and will be a free agent after this upcoming 2016 season. Despite that, the team and Jansen, according to what was reported, have not had discussions about any type of multi-year contract extension during the offseason.

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From the Los Angeles Dodgers’ beat reporter for MLB.com, Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick):

Kenley Jansen, eligible for free agency after this year, said the club has not talked to him about a multi-year deal.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 20, 2016

First off, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is looking to replace Kenley Jansen in the offseason with someone that they perceive to be better. It’s not even like there are many closers who are even better than Jansen at this point anyways.

In his Dodgers career, Jansen has 142 career saves in 338 career games. He has a 2.28 ERA in 340.0 innings while striking out an astounding 528 batters and walking 108. His 14.0 strikeouts-per-nine rate is absolutely unbelievable.

Last season, Jansen racked up 36 saves while striking out 80 batters over 52.1 innings. He only walked 8 of the 200 total batters he faced, and he finished 2015 with a 2.41 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. Yeah, he’s good. And there are only a handful, if that, who are better.

That wasn’t all, though. Remember when the team tried to trade for Chapman? Well, it doesn’t bother Jansen:

Jansen said club officials explained the deal for Aroldis Chapman was part of a "life after Zack" strategy. "Why get bitter about it?"

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 20, 2016

That’s a real “big league” thing to say. There doesn’t seem to be any “bitter” feelings from Jansen’s end, and that’s absolutely great to hear. The 28-year old native of Curacao understands that baseball is a business, so why get upset about it?

If the Dodgers had indeed traded for Chapman like they attempted to, both Chapman and Jansen would have been free agents in the offseason. And that would have raised a little bit of an issue — perhaps. The interesting part of this is the “life after Zack” part.

Does that mean that the team would have looked into moving Chapman into the starting rotation, directly behind Clayton Kershaw? No one knows, and it doesn’t matter anymore since Chapman is now a member of the New York Yankees.

Either way, the Dodgers are thrilled with what they have in Jansen. As noted, Jansen is only 20 saves away from owning the franchise career saves mark. The team is hoping he stays on that monstrous roll he’s been on lately.