Dodgers Team News

Dodgers: LA Open to Re-Signing Kenley Jansen, If the Stars Align

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.

NEXT: Dodgers Insider Doesn’t See Corey Seager and Trea Turner in LA Together Long-Term

12 Comments

  1. Reality check, he is not coming back under any circumstances. We don’t need him anymore.

  2. The Dodgers must keep Kershaw, Jansen & Taylor! The loss of any of these three would be a terrible blow to the team. I don’t think Scherzer or Seager will be affordable to the team, even though it would be great to keep them Dodgers. Another player to keep, if possible, is Pujols if he wants to keep playing. Just his presence is a big team boost. Meanwhile I’ll just pray we can keep Kersh, Jansen, Taylor & Pujols.

    1. CT3 and Scherzer I’m almost certain will be back. Bauer will also be back. The others will probably go elsewhere. If Pujols is indeed going to continue playing, he will most likely sign with the Cardinals.

      1. Well, I doubt seriously that Bauer is even being considered for returning next year, regardless of the outcome of his legal case. MLB is likely to suspend him for at least the full year, The players in the clubhouse were said to be near unanimous in that they don’t want him back. As for the PR side of it, the Dodgers would be inviting a nightmare by allowing a player who beat the crap out of a woman (a crime even if consensual) back on to the field. In a worst case scenario, the Dodgers will be made to pay him through next year, but we’ll never see him in a Dodger uniform again.

        1. Bauer is not opting out of his contract. He has been proven innocent. You will be sorry for making fun of him when he comes back.

          1. Bauer has been proven anything yet. Even if the DA declines to press charges, he still has the mlb investigation to contend with. Manfred will enjoy bending him over with a lengthy suspension. The Dodgers took a chance on this PR nightmare to begin with and got screwed. They won’t have him back. He’s gone.

  3. I really love Corey Seager. But, I don’t see the Dodgers spending the money he will want when he spends so much time in the DL. I think it would be wonderful to bring Scherzer, Taylor & Kershaw back. We might sign a couple of free agents as well… we will see. It’ll be interesting following the winter meetings and see if the NL brings in the DH starting in 2022.

  4. I’m not sold on KJ. He really pulled it together the last part of the season and looked like his old self, maybe even better with an improved selection of pitches. But is this a flash in the pan? How many times has he been inconsistent and gone back to losing his cutter and blowing saves, or struggling to just have a 1-2-3 9th inning? I hope I’m just being paranoid about him.

    1. I think he’s got a few more years in him. He became a pitcher with different stuff rather than a single trick pony thrower. He also regain his confidence and with it attitude. He’ll never hold runners on though.

  5. I’d love to see the Dodgers’ FAs (Seager, Taylor, etc.) show more loyalty to the team than to chasing added millions of dollars they don’t really need to lead a very comfortable life where they are. Ripken did pretty well staying with the same team his entire career.

  6. As fans, I think we’d all selfishly love to see our favorite players re-sign and stay, regardless of pay. But these are human beings with unique circumstances (family, home preference, financial, etc.). Ultimately this is a business, and everyone involved will always act accordingly.

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