Of the Los Angeles Dodgers who became free agents this offseason, Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Corey Seager stood out as being the only players to spend the entirety of their respective careers with the team.
Seager no longer is part of the group after signing a 10-year, $325 million contract with the Texas Rangers earlier this week. Kershaw and Jansen remain on the open market, but there won’t be any clarity to their situations until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.
While the Dodgers are widely considered a favorite to re-sign Kershaw, he could ultimately choose to return home and join Seager in Texas, or potentially retire. As for Jansen, his market surprisingly hasn’t taken shape yet, with only the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins among those linked to him thus far.
Despite previous reports that L.A. was hoping to bring back Jansen, the right-hander is expected to sign elsewhere this winter, per Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
Jansen, the franchise’s all-time saves leader, is not expected to return.
Jansen has been part of the Dodgers organization since he was signed as an amateur free agent out of Curacao in 2004. After struggling with inconsistencies over parts of the past two seasons, he posted a solid 2.22 ERA, 3.08 FIP and 1.04 WHIP with 38 saves across 69 appearances this year.
If the Dodgers do end up re-signing Jansen, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman indicated he would remain in the closer role and have an opportunity to add to his franchise record 350 saves.
Turner talked free agency with Jansen
Having been gone through the process on three occasions, Justin Turner recently revealed he had been in touch with Jansen and Joe Kelly regarding their free agency, but not for the purpose of applying pressure.
Jansen is on the open market for the first time since 2016, when he signed a five-year contract to remain with the Dodgers. Kelly, meanwhile, is a free agent for the first time since 2018 when he joined L.A. on a three-year contract.
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