Along with Brett Anderson, Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins becoming free agents after the 2015 season, and Zack Greinke by virtue of opting out of his deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers had eight players who were eligible for salary arbitration this winter.
Los Angeles tendered contracts to six of those players by the deadline last December, and later avoided arbitration with each. Lisalverto Bonilla and Juan Nicasio were non-tendered and became free agents.
Nicasio signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, while Bonilla is with the Dodgers for Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.
Like all others who the Dodgers avoided arbitration with over the offseason, Kenley Jansen re-signed on a one-year contract.
Jansen is set to earn $10.65 million in 2016, up from his $7.425 million salary last season.
While the Dodgers’ closer is back for another season in Los Angeles, Jansen’s future beyond 2016 is unclear. He’s eligible for free agency after this season, and said on Saturday he and the club have not discussed a multiyear contract, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
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
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman declined comment on Friday when asked if the club would considering extending Jansen’s contract prior to him hitting free agency. “Obviously, it’s tough to comment about contract negotiations, per se,” Friedman said.
“I think it’s well-documented how strongly we feel about Kenley in terms of who he is, what he does on the field and he’s been a big part of our past success, and we’re hopeful he’ll be a big part of our future success.”
The Dodgers nearly paired Jansen with Aroldis Chapman, only for the Cuban left-hander’s involvement in a domestic violence incident to throw the trade off course. Friedman said he and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts spoke with Jansen to inform the Curacao native of the club’s vision as the saga unfolded.
Jansen maintains he doesn’t harbor any resentment toward the Dodgers over their effort to improve the club. The power right-hander converted 36 saves last season and ranks second on the Dodgers’ all-time leaders list with 142 saves, which trails Eric Gagne’s 161.
