Not long ago, it would been almost impossible to imagine anyone but Kenley Jansen serving as the Dodgers’ closer. But after an uncharacteristically pedestrian 2019 season for the long-dominant right-hander, Jansen may not be a lock for the role next year. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Monday that Jansen’s still the team’s closer as of now, but LA “will see how things play out” in regards to the job (Twitter link via Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times).
Whether the 32-year-old Jansen will even be a Dodger in 2020 isn’t necessarily etched in stone, as he could opt out of the remainder of his contract. In all likelihood, though, Jansen’s going to stay put. Abandoning what’s left of his deal would mean leaving two years and $38MM on the table, which would look like an ill-advised move in the wake of the season Jansen just had.
Jansen earned his current pact – a five-year, $80MM guarantee – on the heels of an otherworldly 2016 showing, and while he continued to thrive the next season, he has been closer to good than elite since 2018. At least in comparison to his past self, Jansen was fairly ordinary this year. He posted a 3.71 ERA/3.48 FIP with 33 saves on 41 tries over 63 innings, giving him a personal-high ERA and a career-worst blown saves total. While Jansen did log 11.43 strikeouts per nine against 2.29 walks – a ratio just about any pitcher would sign up for – it’s not as impressive for a hurler who regularly posted a K/9 in the 13-14 range during his halcyon days.
Jansen was a key factor for the Dodgers in past playoff runs, but that wasn’t the case this year during their first-round loss to the Nationals. He threw just 1 2/3 innings during the Dodgers’ five-game defeat, including two-thirds of a frame in the decisive matchup of the series. By then, the Dodgers were already down 7-3 after an implosion from Joe Kelly.
Even though Jansen seemingly lost some of LA’s trust in 2019, he’s still likely to return as one of the team’s top relievers next season. Jansen and the rest of the club’s bullpen faced their fair share of scrutiny throughout the campaign, though, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Dodgers make a noteworthy effort to improve the unit over the winter. If the Dodgers end up in the market for a new closer, Aroldis Chapman (should he opt out of his Yankees deal) and Will Smith stand out as a couple potential free agents who could give the club an end-of-game upgrade over Jansen.
Dodgers can’t sign will smith. You can’t have 2 on the same team.
The 1962Mets did — and both guys played the same position. As Mr. Stengel famously said, “You could look it up.”
Bob L and Bob G Miller…
Friedman isn’t spending $$$ to bring anyone in, or is he going to trade his most prized possessions a minor leaguer. Why should he the Dodger fan will continue it show up and accept another divisional title followed by a non successful postseason and the cycle will continue.
Those penny-pinching Dodgers, golly
I saw a lot of empty seats at game 2, which is kind of shocking for a team that won 106 games and sold nearly 4M tickets during the regular season. You’d think that would get ownership’s attention.
I think that’s more of the fans thinking we are going to the CS and WS so they don’t care about the DS. If I remember correctly the Braves of the 90’s stopped selling out the first round in their consecutive division title run.
I think that’s more the fans thought they would go to the CS and WS so they didn’t care about the DS. If I remember correctly the Braves didn’t sell out The DS round in the later years of their division title run.
I’ve been to plenty of regular season sellout games so I don’t believe the story about fans not caring about playoff games. The empty seats I saw were grouped together. What I see happening here is the Dodgers trying to sell the seats they control at the highest possible prices through StubHub and the demand not really being there at those prices. Season ticket holders were offered additional seats on the day of the games but payment was required in advance. I think they priced them above the market.
The empty seats were sold, usually corporations and stuff. Just no one came, happens all the time
Exactly this. The game can be a sell out and there could be no one there.
TV money and season ticket sales is where it’s at. I doubt either will decline If the team continues to be run the way it is. Consistent regular season winning with a chance at a World Series. That is a cash cow for the ownership group. I don’t have my hopes up that the Dodgers will be big spenders in the off-season.
Neither do I. They won’t have much competition in their division again next year so they will coast.
Game 2’s attendance: 53,086. Nice try.
I was there, buddy. I don’t know how the Dodgers calculate attendance but significant blocks of seats, especially on the Reserve level, were e-m-p-t-y all night. These aren’t the seats that are sold to “corporations and stuff” either. They are the seats the Dodgers sell through StubHub.
Sometimes knowing a thing actually requires being there, which I take it most of the people who post here just don’t do.
And not all of those seats are owned by invested fans, either. Ticket brokers/flippers buy large blocks and sometimes fail to sell them.
That’s true and the Dodgers also sell them through StubHub. The point being, they failed to sell because they were priced too high. Somebody is miscalculating how much Dodger fans are willing to pay.
A lot of the NLDS seats went up on sale by season ticket holders who either couldn’t or wouldn’t be attending the NLDS and they wanted to cash in, probably to buy NLCS or WS tickets instead. Can’t blame them, it it what it is.
But the ticket is already bought, so it counts towards attendance. Besides, the NLDS Dodger 1st two home games were on Thursday and Friday and not everyone can go those days or at those times.
Blocks of seats all in one area were empty, but I said that already.
I’m a season ticket holder so I know how the resale system works.
Not spending money? Too 5 payroll in baseball. They just have bad contracts on Kershaw, Jansen, best pitcher from this year is a FA and not coming back. Saeger isn’t the same player he was before all his injuries, Bellinger had 2 historic months to start the season then hit .250 over the final 4 1/2 they just arent a great team. They have the luxury of playing in an easy division
Kershaw’s contract isn’t even bad. On a $/WAR basis, the team came out ahead. He isn’t what he was, but he’s still plenty productive.
The NLW is not an easy division. An easy division is one with a couple of total doormat teams, of which the NLW has none. Unlike the ALE, for example.
Not for nothing, but World Series aren’t guaranteed. Part of the issue with really good regular season teams, is that their success is a result of depth, and LAD were the poster child for great depth.
But the playoffs revolve around having the 3 best SPs. Depth generally doesn’t make much of an impact. And a team with Strasburg, Scherzer, and Corbin can beat anyone.
But I really didn’t get the idea behind removing Hill. Getting 4-5 innings out of your SP, followed by your BP, was once an underrated move. Then everyone did it all the time, and now can be detrimental. You have to consider whether or not your SP is on a roll.
Hill had been out for an extended period from July to Sept, and only made a couple of short starts in late Sept, plus reinjured his knee during one of them. So there was no time to get him stretched out to throw more than 3-4 innings tops without significant problem of arm fatigue. It was just what it was and we knew that going in with HIll.
Maybe the Dodgers should try the Wild Card?Hey!! Its not that bad,They got 2/3 of being like the Buffalo Bills quest of a Championship
I honestly would rather lose the NLDS then the World Series.
That’s dumb.
Tommy Lasorda: “The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series.”
The Dodgers will sign a couple mediocre Joe Kelly type relievers and call it a day en route to another cake walk division title and nothing else. At least they’ll have some more shiny new prospects to brag about
Joe Kelly is far from mediocre lol well at least until he signed with LA
I would say he’s generally been a pretty below mediocre pitcher most of his career minus a couple year
Joe Kelly is far from mediocre lol well at least until he signed with LA
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Kelly’s ERA+ with Boston was exactly 100. That is the definition of mediocre. Like I tell my fellow RS fans, Kelly was valuable, only while he was cheap.
Being cheap didn’t make Kelly any better, it only made him cheaper. Considering the Dodgers’ needs, the signing of Kelly made no sense whatsoever at any price. It was on the strength of a few good postseason games and a lot of poor to middling regular seasons. The guy who made that brilliant choice is getting a big, fat contract. So now he’ll probably be making more than Joe Kelly. So that’s good.
Being cheap didn’t make Kelly any better, it only made him cheaper.
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Exactly. He is a useful RP, when he is making $3-4M. At $8M, I would expect a little better. Half of all BPs are like that. I like Barnes well enough. But if someone out there wants to offer him $8M when he becomes a FA, good luck.
At $3M or $8M he’s still the same frighteningly inconsistent pitcher. I don’t want that on my team for free. What Friedman saw in him is a mystery to me. All I know is he isn’t being held accountable for signing that totally predicable dud. Far from it, in fact, he’s being handsomely rewarded. Pardon me while this fan pounds some holes in the nearest wall.
Because they would be so much better off with the contracts of Wade Davis and Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen (oh wait) on their books.
Right! Some brainless Twins fans are still mad that we didn’t offer enough to get Darvish and Kimbrel. My response has been to ask, “You haven’t actually watched a Cubs game recently, have you?” Darvish is the definition of streaky and Kimbrel is just not very good.
Connor’s right, Jansen has been closer to good than elite since 2018 as their team outlook & future depth chart clearly shows. prosportsoutlook.com/outlooks/?league=mlb&tea…
Ken Giles from Toronto will be available…
Shhhhh! I’m hopeful that the Twins might spend enough for him
Building a bullpen 101:
Find big body guys who can throw 98 plus and then teach them the slider.
Use up all the heat in that young man’s arm and then don’t resign him when he is close to 30.
Rinse, Repeat.
It seems like they want Kenly to opt out. I know the year wasn’t great and he is worth the current contract, but for Andrew Friedman to say this now, before opt out decision.
also, if they kept kenley back in game 5 with any hopes it would impact his decision to opt out, then that is terribly disappointing. I hope it is not the case, but why bring Joe Kelly in another inning???
Let’s say they sign Will Smith or Chapman (if he opts out) or get some lights out closer, they still need additional bullpen pieces.
Of course they’d want him to opt out, he just had the worst season of his career. But, they didn’t manage the playoff bullpen with the contract in mind, that’s silliness.
I would really hope not. still doesn’t explain leaving in Joe Kelly for the 10th. “he looked good” no, sorry, he looked predictable… you know who looked good? Maeda, a starter, who was only left in for 1 inning.
Either way, I will be glad when Kenley is back. Hopefully he has a chip on his shoulder and is ready to listen, mix it up and pitch.
also, bring in Will Smith and another lockdown arm. 🙂
Roberts had about as terrible a game as any manager has ever had. He went with his gut, and it was awful. Don’t hold your breath on lockdown relievers, they’ll dumpster dive and hope for another Morrow or Kolarek.
Call Toronto, ask for Ken Giles.
Sox have a 2012 trade partner
Sox have a 2012 trade partner
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I was thinking the same thing. I don’t like Jansen’s contract, but I don’t like all of ours either. We have three guys (Betts, Workman, and Price) that the LAD could use, but certainly aren’t must-haves. And the LAD have 100s of top-100 prospects which the RS don’t absolutely need, but could be extreme;y useful.
Somewhere in there is an elegant fit.
That would be world changing. The Red Sox looked so listless last year that it really feels they need a shake up.
In particular, Betts was playing well below his capabilities, which is scary to think since his year was actually very good.
If the Dodgers and Sox work something out, it could help the Dodgers get over the hump and fast track a very necessary rebuild in Boston.
Price, Betts, and Workman
for
Verdugo, Downs & Gray
LAD gets the premier RF in BB, a veteran SP in Price since Urias & May are likely on limited IPs, and Hill & Ryu might be gone), and an RP that out-pitched Jansen last year ( and a 0.00 September ERA).
LAD gives up a RF, where they have depth, a prospect 2B who won’t play over Lux, and an SP prospect that might never start for LA.
Boston gets a salary reset no matter what JDM does, a starting RF, a guy that probably is our starting 2B in 2021, and a decent SP prospect where we have so little.
And Yankee fans get to watch riots in Boston for a few days after Betts leaves.
Friedman gets the credit for putting together a great everyday line up with a cupboard full of prospects. He also gets the blame for failing over the past few years to assemble a WS -worthy bullpen. I mean really, The likes of JT Chargrois and Yimi Garcia should be nowhere near this team.
They were nowhere near the team in October. Your obsession with the idea of the pen is staggering. Anyone with 2 eyes can see Roberts screwed up game 5, not Friedman for having a “lack of options”
And how many consecutive years has it been an problem inadequately addressed. Apparently you have problems with people who have critical thinking skills because you are completely in denial or lost.
Yes, and here’s the other thing. Depth may win a division, but in October the winner is the team that fields the best 15-20 players. Year after year Friedman show how he gets the one thing but not the other.
And that was my point. It’s on Friedman. Yes, Roberts may not be the best at handling a pitching staff, but he can only use what he has been given to work with. How can some idiots not see that?
Really because Maeda was the best relief pitcher in the division series. Kolarek didn’t face Soto once. Instead they used a non bullpen arm and went to Kelly for 2 innings which was just greedy. The Dodgers pen had a more than clear path to a game 5 win. You lack critical thinking if you think Kershaw and Roberts dying with Kelly reflects the pen
You cannot reliably move starters into a pen role and expect similar results. Stripling even stated in an interview that it was not typically a good idea. That’s why there are dare I say it, guys who make a living as relievers. You need pitchers whose arsenal is suited to relieving and who have the constitution to work in high leverage situations. The results are clear, but you cannot or will not accept facts. BTW, if there is not a manager alive who will mess up and cost a game. The Dodger pen is an ongoing problem which you fail to see for some reason.
Yes, and the very fact that they were forced to use four starters in relief points to how the bullpen was not constructed to go the distance. The bulk of the relievers who appeared in the regular season weren’t good enough to make the postseason roster and the ones who did stunk up the place. A recurring issue for this team and one that could be fixed but most likely won’t be fixed. Next year we’ll see another parade of disposable arms and if they make the postseason a bullpen patched together with marginal relievers and converted starters.
If he used what he was given to work with, that’d be a good point. He didn’t. His best option for getting lefties out was merely a spectator.
Maeda has been great out of the pen for 3 postseasons. He is fine for the role and they did not go to him. You just love to keep ignoring this. If Roberts used Maeda to start the 8th the Dodgers are playing today. If Roberts used Kolarek to face Soto in one of his crutial late ab’s they could very well still be playing. If Roberts didnt get greedy with an injured Kelly and turned to Jansen to start the 10th they very well could still be playing. You 2 can pretend all you want like they didn’t have the options there to win. They very will did but Dave pushed every wrong button.
this is the truth
yes, agree
We want a Will Smith-Will Smith battery!
Roberts is a Terrible Manager he is living on Donnie Baseballs Coattails and that’s coming to an End. Dodgers Need a Real Manager instead of a puppet Showalter
You cannot reliably move starters into a pen role and expect similar results. Stripling even stated in an interview that it was not typically a good idea. That’s why there are dare I say it, guys who make a living as relievers. You need pitchers whose arsenal is suited to relieving and who have the constitution to work in high leverage situations. The results are clear, but you cannot or will not accept facts. BTW, if there is not a manager alive who will mess up and cost a game. The Dodger pen is an ongoing problem which you fail to see for some reason.
Roberts wanted to be the personal hero for Kershaw, it didn’t work. The guy just doesn’t get it and was blessed with being a weak division where anyone could have won 100 games with the guys the dodgers put out there. The majority of fans get it. Roberts stinks and deserves to be booed by 40,000 fans every night.
Baloney. If you want to see a weak division, what about one with a couple of total doormat teams? Such as the ALE.
Or AL central. 5 of the bottom 7 MLB teams with less than 70 wins were in the AL. And BAL, DET and even KC never looked like they were trying to win.
This is what happens when you live by sabermetrics. Another poster mentioned Roberts blurted out “it wasn’t my call” when Kershaw went in. If that is accurate, Roberts isn’t the manager. It’s friedman. If I’m roberts, I’m running as fast as I can from that situation because it means the brass doesn’t have faith in him as manager.
I got news for you. Sabermetrics say dont put Kershaw in the game. Your whole ides is just wrong
For starters, the advanced numbers did not point to using Kershaw there. Secondly, you really need to get a handle on what “sabermetrics” are, then revisit your argument.
Wait, so Andy Friedman shares his analytics with you?
Price, Betts, and Workman
for
Verdugo, Downs & Gray
LAD gets the premier RF in BB, a veteran SP in Price since Urias & May are likely on limited IPs, and Hill & Ryu might be gone), and an RP that out-pitched Jansen last year ( and a 0.00 September ERA).
LAD gives up a RF, where they have depth, a prospect 2B who won’t play over Lux, and an SP prospect that might never start for LA.
Boston gets a salary reset no matter what JDM does, a starting RF, a guy that probably is our starting 2B in 2021, and a decent SP prospect where we have so little.
And Yankee fans get to watch riots in Boston for a few days after Betts leaves.
The sound you are about to hear is laughing, followed by a click.
The dodgers have made some good decisions like not trading for Filipe Vasquez because we know how that would of turned out. But they still should’ve traded for someone bigger.
I loved the comments by the PT fans. They were expecting two top-25 guys and said ‘if we don’t get it, we’ll hold onto to him’. What happened was pretty much a fluke, but once you make up your mind to trade a player, my experience is the sooner the better.
Jansen should be the Closer outside of the Dodgers signing Chapman (if he does choose to opt out of his contract with NYY).