December 12th, 2016 at 11:14 am 
by Ron Cervenka After much anxiety and speculation, it is being reported that Dodgers’ all-times saves leader Kenley Jansen has reached a five-year deal with the Dodgers that will earn the 29-year-old Curacao native $80 million.
If true, and there is absolutely zero reason to think otherwise, it would become the second largest contract in MLB history for a reliever and will net Jansen an average annual value (AAV) of $16 million, second only to the five-year / $86 million contract given to closer Aroldis Chapman by the New York Yankees (for a $17.2 million AAV), and slightly more that the four-year / $62 million given to closer Mark Melancon by the San Francisco Giants ($15.5 million AAV).
Jansen’s 47 saves this past season were tied with Mark Melancon for second most in the NL League behind Mets closer Jeurys Familia, who had 51.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Although there has been no official word on the Jansen deal from the Dodgers yet, if Ken Gurnick said it, you can take it to the bank.
…alongside Kenley Jansen, of course.
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I was never worried.
Doesn’t surprise me but I also wouldn’t have been surprised if he had signed elsewhere. You might say I was on the fence on that one.
I’m thinking his contract might be back loaded so the Dodgers can get involved in other FA signings in 2018 and especially into 2019 as they shed other contracts.
Good move with Clayton in mind.
I also think Turner will be signed. Not on the fence on this one.
Jansen can opt out after three years. That is becoming standard for high cost free agents.
As I said a few days ago, I don’t give up ’til the contract is signed.
Now, neither you nor Gurnick are saying the contract is signed. Gurnick seems to imply that it isn’t. But my optimism has always outweighed my pessimism, so I’m now looking forward to April and the first time it’s “Kenley Time”.
Well I was surprised. 5 years $80M for a 70 inning reliever (even an elite closer) is not something that Friedman has previously done. I do not know if he had much choice considering the improvements other teams in the NL have done, but it was still surprisingly great news. If the imminent JT contract comes to fruition, the FO will have kept their top 3 FA needs. Now to add to the pen, get a RH hitting 2B, and maybe a RH power hitting OF. Great day to be a Dodger fan!
This is fantastic news! I was never “worried” as well… Now if only I could find my fingernails laying around here somewhere.
Had Jansen signed elsewhere, I would have remained very confident in the Dodgers farm system to pick up the slack, if not the front office in acquiring a strong arm, to bolster their bullpen.
Next up, Justin Turner!
I was concerned, but am happily surprised that the FO has signed all three (Hills, Jansen, and Turner) and been willing to pay the big bucks. Word is that Jansen got a higher offer from Washington but preferred to stay with the Dodgers, and that says a lot to me about Kenley, his teammates, Dave Roberts, Rick Honeycut, and the entire organization. It’s really nice to see loyalty and friendships still have a place in Major League Baseball, at least as far as the Dodgers are concerned!
He may opt-out after 3 years but at least we’ll have him, for sure, for at least 3.