Dodgers: Kenley Jansen Said LA Tried Hard to Bring Him Back
The Dodgers had the opportunity to add Kenley Jansen back into the mix. They drafted him as a catcher many years ago and were right there in his transition to a reliever. He closed out games for a decade in Los Angeles, ultimately choosing the Atlanta Braves in free agency.
But there was a chance that Kenley was coming back to the Dodgers. Dave Roberts spoke several times about him after the lockout, saying that he wouldn’t close the door on the opportunity until he actually signed somewhere.
Speaking with Braves reporters this weekend, Jansen talked about his free-agent decision, The big man added that the Dodgers did make a serious run at him, with Dave Roberts constantly checking in on where he was at.
“Yes, of course. Talking to Andrew [Friedman], I don’t think Andrew is going to lie to my face. When the lockout was over, Doc, Dave Roberts texted me. It was literally over and he texted me a few minutes later and is like ‘Are you coming back?’ I couldn’t comment on that one. But yeah, like I said, it was awesome. It was awesome. They made some moves over there, they tried to bring me back, but unfortunately, I had to make a decision. I chose being with the Braves.”
Jansen is one of the greatest closers of all time for the Dodgers, so why wouldn’t they want him back? But he chose to accept a $16 million deal to land with Atlanta, and he will be taking the 9th inning for them now.
Dodgers Related: Justin Turner Helped Recruit Freddie Freeman
It’s not a shock to know that the Dodgers went after Kenley. But it is sort of comforting to know how well they can treat their franchise players. That’s a little different from Atlanta, which seemingly disappeared on Freddie Freeman during his decision-making process.
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Dodgers: Dave Roberts Does Not Want a Designated Closer
