Coming off an All-Star season Kenley Jansen reached free agency for the first time in his career. He predictably was extended the qualifying offer by the Los Angeles Dodgers, which Jansen, equally as predictable, rejected.
With the one-year, $17.2 million offer no longer on the table, teams other than the Dodgers will lose their top unprotected pick in the 2017 Draft in the event of signing Jansen. That should have minimal impact on the right-hander’s market, with several clubs in search of a closer.
Thus far, the Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees have been the teams most often associated with Jansen.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, the Miami Marlins also have interest in signing the 29-year-old:
The Miami Marlins would love to sign Kenley Jansen if the market breaks right for them. They are considering the idea of putting together a super pen since there aren’t the types of starters available at reasonable cost to help them upgrade their rotation in a meaningful way.
Most recently, Heyman again noted the Marlins remain interested in signing an elite closer:
The Marlins are serious in their pursuit, and seem intent on trying to beat some big-market teams for the services of one of the “big three” closers on the free agent market.
The notion of Miami signing a free agent to a lucrative contract bucks history, though the club did sign Giancarlo Stanton to a staggering 13-year, $325 million extension. Then in January, Dee Gordon was signed to a five-year, $50 million extension, and Wei-Yin Chen was inked to a five-year, $80 million deal.
Jansen, and Chapman for that matter, are expected to shatter the four-year, $50 million contract Jonathan Papelbon received from the Philadelphia Phillies in November 2011. Jansen had 47 saves with a 1.83 ERA and 0.67 WHIP.
He finished tied for second in the Majors in saves, and led qualified NL closers in WHIP and strikeouts (104). Among the trio of closers available on the open market, Jansen was projected by MLB executives to have the most value in relation to a forthcoming contract.
The Dodgers have publicly named Jansen one of their top priorities this offseason, though president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman added the club is mindful of allowing him to go through the full experience of free agency.
