Kenley Jansen signs one-year, $16-million contract with the Atlanta Braves
For the first time since 2013, someone not named Kenley Jansen will be the Dodgers’ closer on opening day.
Jansen and the Atlanta Braves agreed to a one-year contract worth $16 million, the team announced Friday, officially ending his time with the Dodgers after 12 seasons.
Jansen enjoyed a bounce-back season last year. The right-hander posted a 2.22 earned-run average with 38 saves in 69 appearances following — at least by his expectations — three subpar seasons. Jansen rebounded by countering his velocity drop with a more diverse pitch mix.
Freddie Freeman says he felt hurt by how the Braves didn’t make a big effort to keep him. Kenley Jansen could probably say the same about the Dodgers.
But the Dodgers weren’t willing to pay a premium for a 34-year-old reliever, even for one as important to the Dodgers over the last decade as Jansen.
At the peak of his powers — he was the best reliever in the majors in 2016 and 2017 — Jansen almost exclusively threw a cutter. Last season he used his slider and sinker more than ever. Recouping some of the lost velocity helped.
The Dodgers signed Jansen out of Curaçao in 2004 as a catcher. He reached the majors as a reliever in 2010 and became closer in 2012. Ten years later, he’s the franchise’s leader in saves with 350.
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