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Kenley Jansen

Kenley Jansen Reports To Dodgers Camp; Tested Positive For COVID-19

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Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen reported to camp today—as first reported by Pedro Moura of The Athletic—rejoining his team after a positive test for COVID-19 prevented him from participating in Dodgers workouts to this point. It was previously unknown why Jansen had yet to arrive at Dodger Stadium, but he confirmed today that he indeed tested positive for the virus. Evidently, he has since passed the two tests necessary to permit him to return to action.

Jansen told reporters including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick that he expects to be ready for the Dodgers’ July 23 matchup with the Giants to kick off the season. With Opening Day less than two weeks away, that seems like an ambitious goal for a pitcher who has thus far been unable to train with his team in Spring Training 2.0, but the build-up to game shape might be less steep for a bullpen pitcher like Jansen, who’s been throwing consistently during the baseball stoppage.

Should Jansen need more to time to recover, the Dodgers’ deep bullpen should give them options to deploy in the ninth inning in place of Jansen: Joe Kelly and Blake Treinen are accomplished veteran relievers who could pick up the slack for a time.

Jansen, 32, has dealt with heart issues in the past, though he’s said that those problems have not influenced his intent to play in the shortened 2020 season. Last year was arguably Jansen’s worst season since arriving in MLB in 2010. For the better part of a decade, he was one of the most dominant relievers in the sport, though declining velocity has troubled him in recent years. As 2020 gets underway, we will cross our fingers for a healthy, bounce-back season from Jansen.

Twins Acquire Kenta Maeda

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FEBRUARY 10, 7:36pm: This deal is now official.

6:36pm: Young catcher Jair Camargo represents the last piece of the puzzle going to Minnesota, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic (via Twitter).

FEBRUARY 9, 6:35pm: The Twins are sending outfielder Luke Raley to the Dodgers as the final piece of the package heading to California, per MLB Insider Jeff Passan (via Twitter). Interestingly, Raley was originally drafted by the Dodgers. He was traded to Minnesota as part of the Brian Dozier deadline deal in 2018. Raley, 25, rejoins the Dodgers organization after hitting .302/.362/.516 in 33 games at Triple-A Rochester in 2019.

5:32pm: Interestingly enough, now that the Mookie Betts to the Dodgers deal is again near completion, the rest of the baseball world can move on. That includes the Minnesota Twins, who are completing their leg of this mega-deal in a new iteration.

The Twins will now receive right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda, along with $10MM cash from the Dodgers, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links). They are also likely to receive a lower level prospect from the Dodgers, per Rosenthal, though the name of that prospect has not yet been revealed. Another report has the Twins sending an additional prospect to the Dodgers, per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. That player is said to be an outfielder, per MLB Networks Jon Heyman.

If your head is spinning at this point, that’s okay. In total, Maeda, $10MM cash and a prospect is headed to the Twins for Brusdar Graterol, a draft pick (#67 overall) and another prospect. Deals are still pending physicals, which of course, is no small caveat, though expectations are that the deal will go through. We’ll keep this post updated as the names of those final prospects come rolling in.

The Dodgers will now keep Graterol, presumably making him a part of their bullpen picture in 2020. It’s certainly an interesting gambit for the Dodgers to take on Graterol after the Red Sox passed. Regardless, he becomes another weapon for the Dodgers to use in their quest to return to the World Series. He may even be the perfect candidate to take on the multi-inning fireman role that Maeda had played for the Dodgers over the past few postseasons. Alternatively, if Kenley Jansen’s struggles continue, Graterol could step into a finishing role. However they plan on using him, the Dodgers not only added one of the best player’s in the game today, but also a high-risk, high-reward young hurler.

For the Twins, they get a reliable arm for their rotation at little financial investment to slot in with Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi at the top of their rotation. Even Maeda wins here, as he gets the security of starting for a playoff contender, something he’s long desired, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Maeda has a fairly complex contract, but given the money being sent Minnesota’s way, the Twinkies have Maeda for the next four seasons at very reasonable rates. Maeda is only really assured of earning $3.15MM in each of the next four seasons by way of a $3MM base contact and $150K bonus for making the opening day roster. Of course, with Maeda in the rotation, there’s room for him to raise his worth on an annual basis with up to $6.5MM in potential bonuses.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kenley Jansen Won’t Exercise Opt-Out Clause

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Dodgers right-hander Kenley Jansen passed on the opportunity to opt out of the final two years and $38MM on his five-year, $80MM contract, as was first reported a few days back by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).

It’s not a surprising decision in the least. Now 32 years old, Jansen has seen his velocity and his results decline in each of the past two seasons, and he assuredly would have been in line to receive less than $38MM on the open market.

Jansen’s strikeout and walk rates remain excellent (11.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9), but he’s become more hittable and more homer-prone over the past 15 months in particular. Jansen carried a 2.28 ERA and a 57-to-13 K/BB ratio through 51 1/3 innings into the month of August in 2018. From that point forth, however, he surrendered 11 earned runs on the strength of seven homers in his final 20 1/3 innings. He was sharp through the NLDS and NLCS last season before being tagged with a pair of blown saves in the team’s World Series loss to Boston.

The 2019 season was Jansen’s worst as a Major Leaguer. In 63 regular-season innings, he was tagged for a 3.71 ERA with nine homers surrendered. Dating back to last August, Jansen’s overall regular-season numbers are wholly unremarkable; he’s tallied 83 1/3 innings with an even 4.00 ERA. And despite his robust strikeout totals in that time, he’s yielded an average of 1.73 homers per nine innings pitched.

Perhaps a correction of this year’s explosive ball will prove beneficial, but it’s also worth noting that Jansen’s homer troubles were greater in 2018 than in 2019. At this point, with his once-94.3 mph cutter checking in at an average of 92.1 mph, it’s equally possible that Jansen simply won’t return to the dominant force he once was. His K/BB rates still give him a chance to be a quality late-inning arm, but he’ll need to curtail the home runs to some extent — even if he can’t return to his 2016-17 form, when he yielded just nine home runs over a span of 137 innings. He’ll earn $19MM in each of the next two seasons, but in spite of that salary, the Dodgers may be forced to push him into a lower-leverage role and alter the manner in which they handle their highest-leverage situations moving forward.

Andrew Friedman On Kenley Jansen

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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.

Dave Roberts Discusses Kenley Jansen

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By Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen’s lofty standards, this has been a difficult season. In his latest appearance Wednesday, the 31-year-old allowed a ninth-inning solo home run en route to a blown save against the Blue Jays. The juggernaut Dodgers still went on to another victory, but Jansen’s seemingly one of their few players who hasn’t enjoyed a stellar season.

Jansen has already surrendered the second-most homers of his career (eight) and racked up his second-highest total of blown saves (six, in 32 chances) through 48 2/3 innings in 2019. And while most relievers would be satisfied with Jansen’s 3.70 ERA/3.58 FIP, those numbers rank among career worsts for a hurler who has logged a stingy 2.32 ERA/2.24 FIP since debuting in 2011.

Jansen’s dip in performance (which dates back to last year) is among the reasons the Dodgers’ bullpen has been shaky at times this season. But there’s no imminent end-of-game change coming for Los Angeles, manager Dave Roberts explained to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, saying he’s “not tempted” to remove Jansen as closer. The two did, however, have a “long” meeting after Wednesday’s game, reports Plunkett, who writes that Jansen also met with Dodgers president Andrew Friedman. Jansen indicated Roberts and Friedman gave him votes of confidence, but Roberts acknowledged that if things don’t turn around in the coming weeks, “then there should be a conversation and then I will have to make a decision.”

For now, Roberts is betting on improvement from the three-time All-Star, as is Jansen himself. “I’m going to be there” in the ninth, said Jansen, who insisted he’s not worried about his status. Despite his issues this year, Jansen has still posted some of the top numbers of anyone in LA’s bullpen. When it comes to regular Dodgers relievers, only Pedro Baez and Julio Urias have bettered Jansen at preventing runs (though Joe Kelly has overcome a rough start to dominate in recent weeks), and no one on the team rivals Jansen’s wealth of game-ending experience.

Back in 2017, Jansen enjoyed one of the single greatest seasons any reliever has ever delivered. He fired 68 1/3 innings of 1.32 ERA/1.31 FIP ball, recording 14.36 K/9 against 0.92 BB/9 with 41 saves on 42 tries. That near-unbeatable version of Jansen also registered a career-best 18.2 swinging-strike rate, relying on his signature cutter 85.4 percent of the time (per Statcast) to stymie the opposition. That pitch is no longer as formidable, though, and Jansen has turned to it less as a result. He has gone to it at a 76.7 percent rate this year, filling in the other 23.3 percent with a four-seamer and a slider that he has relied on to almost matching extents.

Jansen’s velocity on his cutter, four-seamer and slider has fallen in comparison to his dream ’17 season, but that’s not to say hitters have teed off on any of them. In fact, according to Statcast, Jansen has produced above-average results with each offering. Unsurprisingly, the .287 weighted on-base average hitters have managed against him trumps his .263 expected wOBA – the latter of which ranks in the majors’ 93rd percentile. Jansen’s also near the summit of the league in strikeout percentage (91st percentile; he has fanned 11.04 per nine while walking only 2.03), fastball spin (96th percentile), hard-hit rate allowed (97th percentile) and average exit velocity against (99th percentile; 84.5 mph).

By Statcast’s metrics, not to mention Jansen’s 17th-ranked swinging-strike percentage (16.1), he’s still either an elite reliever or close to it. Although he’s not the Jansen who steamrolled hitters two years ago, “He doesn’t need to be the ’17 Kenley,” according to Roberts. “He needs to be the best of what he is today and going forward.” 

Dodgers Notes: Ryu, May, Jansen, Stripling, Hill, Verdugo

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Hyun-Jin Ryu has been one of baseball’s best pitchers this season, and with a trip to free agency pending, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand speaks to several rival executives about how Ryu will fare on the open market this winter.  It should be noted that Ryu sidestepped a chance at free agency last offseason by accepting a one-year, $17.9MM qualifying offer from the Dodgers, preferring to remain in L.A. and aim for a better platform year than his injury-shortened 2018 campaign.  That strategy has worked like gangbusters, as Ryu has a 1.64 ERA, 1.1 BB/9 (both league bests), 7.00 K/BB rate, and 50.7% grounder rate over 148 1/3 frames in 2019, with only two minimal injured list stints for relatively minor issues.

With this in mind, Ryu’s long injury history and age (he’ll be 33 on Opening Day 2020) will also certainly be factors in his next contract.  MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes placed Ryu seventh in his most recent power ranking of the 2019-20 free agent class, though one NL executive tells Feinsand that depending on whether some players exercise opt-out clauses or not, Ryu is “probably No. 2 if his contract ask is reasonable….This could be an interesting class to watch. It might be one of those years where teams rank guys differently based on who they like.”  Gerrit Cole is the undisputed top pitcher available this winter, but other arms like Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler, or Dallas Keuchel have also seemingly generated more buzz than Ryu, recent results notwithstanding.  An AL talent evaluator thinks this could be to Ryu’s benefit, telling Feinsand that Ryu “may actually be viewed slightly lower than some in that group perceptually, and therefore, sign earlier. I can see Ryu signing ahead of them and jumping the market and actually getting a better deal. I think the other guys may wait longer, and waiting longer hasn’t always paid off.”

Here’s more on the Dodgers…

  • Dustin May is in line for another start next week, manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters, though May will also make relief appearances to get him more acclimated to working out of the bullpen.  This semi-swingman usage is being deployed since the Dodgers ultimately intend to use May as a reliever in the postseason, though also need him available to make a spot start if necessary down the stretch.  For instance, L.A. is two games into a run of 16 games in 16 days, so May’s start next week will give the regular rotation members a breather.  “When you have a person of Dustin’s head, mindset, it makes it a better bet for us to make and especially when you have the buy-in of the player….We’re going to continue to keep our options open,” Roberts said.  May has started three of his four big league appearances thus far, posting a 4.26 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 5.00 K/BB rate over 19 total innings.
  • In another case of the Dodgers making early preparations for October, the team will use Kenley Jansen roughly once per series for the remainder of the season, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes.  This means Jansen will be skipped for some save situations and pitch in some non-save situations, all in order to keep him regularly sharp rather than tether this workload to whether or not the Dodgers have a ninth-inning lead.  It’s worth wondering if this strategy could also have to do with Jansen’s somewhat shaky performance this year, as the closer has a career-high 3.70 ERA over 48 2/3 innings.  Jansen blew his sixth save chance of the season last night, and now has 26 saves in 32 chances.
  • Roberts provided DiGiovanna and other reporters with updates on some injured Dodgers players.  Ross Stripling (right biceps tendinitis) seems the closest to returning, as he tossed a 25-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday and has a two-inning simulated game coming up before he begins a rehab assignment.  Rich Hill (flexor tendon strain) has upped his long-toss throwing to 150 feet and will next start throwing off a mound.  Hill isn’t expected back until sometime in September, though his path to a return is clearer than that of Alex Verdugo, as Roberts said Verdugo is still feeling pain in his ribcage and hasn’t yet resumed baseball activities.  Verdugo has been on the IL since August 6 due to a right oblique strain, and Roberts said the outfielder won’t return to action until at least the start of September.

Closer Updates: Jansen, Giles, Kimbrel

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Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has received the dreaded “vote of confidence” from skipper Dave Roberts, as detailed in a report from the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett. Following a blown save in Friday’s game against Arizona, Jansen has five blown saves in 2019–matching his combined total from 2017 and 2018. Despite the big righty’s career-high 3.83 ERA entering play Saturday, Roberts seemed generally nonplussed at the prospect of a Jansen demotion. “Do I have any concerns? No,” Roberts told Plunkett. “He’s a guy that I know for us to win 11 games in October, we need him. I know he’ll get there.”

As Plunkett points out, Jansen has responded to his 2019 struggles by altering his repertoire. Typically a flamethrower with a 90% usage rate on his cutter, Jansen has implemented a slider at an 11.3% clip in 2019–his highest rate on that offering since 2016. “Certainly throughout the early part of his career, he just overpowered the league and there was some unfamiliarity there. Now you’ve got to continue to evolve,” Roberts said.

More developments from the world of late-inning lynchpins…

  • Blue Jays hurler Ken Giles has been dealing with a balky elbow for several weeks and could end up on the injured list in the coming days. Manager Charlie Montoyo told Scott Mitchell of TSN that Giles’ arm isn’t “bouncing back” after a July cortisone shot that was intended to quell inflammation surrounding the elbow, and admitted that the team is having a “conversation” about what to do next in regard to Giles. At 49-71, the Blue Jays don’t figure to close many relevant ballgames down the season’s homestretch, but it stands to reason that Giles’ lingering injury would be of concern to a Blue Jays front office that opted not to deal the talented closer at July’s trade deadline. Across 37 innings, Giles has logged identically fantastic ERA and FIP marks of 1.95.
  • Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel hit the injured list five days ago with knee inflammation, but he could rejoin the team for this week’s upcoming series with the Phillies, per Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Kimbrel is expected to “test” his knee with a bullpen session in Philadelphia, although it is unlikely that he will be activated when first eligible on Wednesday. After Steve Cishek’s IL placement this afternoon, Cubs fans will certainly be clamoring for Kimbrel’s recovery.

Previewing 2019-20’s Opt-Out Clause Decisions

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Some few contracts include provisions giving the player control over one or more seasons by affording the chance to opt out of the remainder of the deal. Take the bird in hand or see how many you can net from the free-agent bush? Market changes have impacted the math for some players, but the open market still has riches to offer. We don’t know how things will look for any given player at season’s end, but here’s how it’s shaping up at the outset of the 2019 campaign:

Elvis Andrus, SS, Rangers: Three years, $43MM: The 2016-17 version of Andrus — and the one we saw through the season’s first two weeks in 2018 — looked every bit like a player who would exercise the first of two opt-out clauses in his contract (which came at the end of the 2018 season). From Opening Day 2016 through April 11 last year, Andrus posted a terrific .301/.352/.459 batting line with 30 homers, 78 doubles, 11 triples and 49 steals through 1318 plate appearances. Paired with his glovework at shortstop, he looked very capable of topping the remaining four years and $58MM on his contract. Unfortunately, he suffered an elbow fracture, missed two months, and returned to hit only .245/.289/.347 in his final 367 plate appearances. An offseason of rest looks to have done him some good, as he’s hitting .380/.392/.500 through 51 PAs. Unlike several players on this list, there’s an actual chance that Andrus could test the open market, though free agency hasn’t been kind to players on the wrong side of 30 in recent years.

Jake Arrieta, RHP, Phillies: One year, $20MM (unless Phillies exercise two-year, $40MM option for 2021-22): Arrieta’s first season with the Phils was solid, if unremarkable. He tallied 172 2/3 innings and gave the team a 3.96 ERA with fielding-independent metrics that didn’t stray too far from that ERA (4.26 FIP, 4.08 xFIP, 4.29 SIERA). The former Cy Young winner’s velocity is down a couple miles per hour from its peak levels, and while Arrieta showed good control and ground-ball tendencies in 2018, he no longer appears to be a strikeout pitcher. Given that he’ll pitch next season at age 34, it doesn’t seem all that likely that the Phillies will sign up to tack on another pair of $20MM seasons. With a strong 2019 effort, it’s possible that Arrieta positions himself to land a two-year deal with a larger guarantee but lower annual rate (e.g. two years, $30MM), so it’s not out of the question that he’d opt out at season’s end, even if seems unlikely at present.

Yu Darvish, RHP, Cubs: Four years, $81MM: Darvish’s first season in Chicago was an unmitigated disaster, as a series of arm injuries limited him to just 40 innings of work. His velocity isn’t where it was in previous seasons, and in this season’s small sample of three starts, he’s walked more batters than he’s punched out. It’s hard to envision any scenario in which Darvish opts out of his contract; even if he stormed back to ace status and won an NL Cy Young Award, I’m not sure he’d top $81MM as a 33-year-old free agent with a qualifying offer hanging over his head. The Cubs appear stuck with the contract and will need to simply hope for a rebound.

Jason Heyward, OF, Cubs: Four years, $86MM (assuming he makes 550 PAs): Heyward has had a scalding hot start to the season, mashing at a .351/.444/.676 pace. Through 45 plate appearances, he’s already halfway to his home run total from a 2018 season in which he came to he plate 489 times. Even if Heyward’s bat proves to be rejuvenated to its 2015 levels, however, it’s virtually unfathomable that he’d walk away from the remaining $86MM on this contract. His poor results in his first three seasons with the Cubs still loom large enough that a monster year at the dish would be met with a heavy dose of skepticism, and he’ll turn 30 in August.

Kenley Jansen, RHP, Dodgers: Two years, $38MM: After seven seasons as a near-unstoppable force in the Dodgers’ bullpen, Jansen looked mortal in 2018 when he logged a 3.01 ERA (his first time ever topping 3.00) and 10.3 K/9 (his first time south of 13.0). A strong enough rebound campaign could embolden Jansen to seek out a three-year deal at a lower annual salary than the $19MM remaining on his contract; the Rockies gave Wade Davis a total of $52MM for the same three-year age span that Jansen will be entering (32-34). He’s already rejected one qualifying offer in his career, so he wouldn’t be eligible to receive a second one (even though he landed with the same team that winter).

J.D. Martinez, DH/OF, Red Sox: Three years, $62.5MM: The general expectation in the 2017-18 offseason was that Martinez’s 2017 season (.303/.376/.690, 45 home runs) would be a peak year. Instead, he turned in an arguably even more productive 2018 season with the Red Sox, hitting a ridiculous .330/.402/.629 with 43 home runs in 649 PAs — the second-highest total of his career. Martinez is off to another strong start in 2019, and despite a frosty climate for free agents, one can only wonder if he’d be tempted to once again test free agency if he can post a third consecutive season of 40-plus homers with an OPS north of 1.000. One wrinkle to consider is that barring an unexpected midseason trade, Martinez would have a qualifying offer attached to him this time around; that wasn’t true of his last trip through free agency, as he’d been traded from Detroit to Arizona midseason.

Stephen Strasburg, RHP, Nationals: Four years, $100MM: Strasburg is still a strikeout machine who posts big totals in swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates, but his 93.1 mph average fastball in 2019 is well south of last year’s 94.5 mph (to say nothing of his career 95.3). The former No. 1 pick was a big part of the Nats’ rotation in 2018 and should be again this year, but he was more good than great last year (130 innings, 3.74 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 43.6 GB%). Moreover, Darvish and a much younger Patrick Corbin are the only two pitchers who have topped $100MM in guarantees over the past two offseasons. Strasburg would be hit with a qualifying offer if he opted out, and he’d be betting against recent trends as a 31-year-old pitcher looking to cash in on a nine-figure contract. He can ask Dallas Keuchel how well that strategy works.

NL Notes: Mets, Harper, Machado, Rockies, Dodgers, Kenley, Reds

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The Mets haven’t been connected to outfielder Bryce Harper or infielder Manny Machado – the best free agents available this offseason – in part because, “I don’t know how many teams have two $30-million players,” COO Jeff Wilpon said this week (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Wilpon was alluding to the Mets’ highest-paid player, outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who will make just shy of $30MM per year over the next two seasons. But Cespedes is not under contract thereafter, may not even play in 2019 because of heel problems, and will have insurance cover some portion of his money while he’s on the shelf. Still, whether the outfield’s a pressing need for the Mets is debatable, as they have Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton headlining that group. Wilpon noted the Mets “have some pretty good lefty outfielders” in Nimmo and Conforto, lessening the need for Harper. Entering the offseason, they weren’t as fortunate on the left side of their infield, where Machado could have made a huge difference. The team has since signed Jed Lowrie, though, and it’s seemingly content to go forward with him as its primary third baseman and Amed Rosario at shortstop. However, even after reeling in Lowrie (and acquiring other pricey veterans in Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson), the Mets are still roughly $40MM under the luxury tax, Healey points out. Nevertheless, the big-market club is apparently content to stay out of the sweepstakes for both Harper and Machado.

More from around the National League…

  • Although the Rockies’ Bud Black is entering a contract year, the manager’s not fazed by his uncertain status beyond 2019. “Those thing work themselves out,” said Black (via Nick Groke of The Athletic). If Black wants to stay with the Rockies, it’ll be a surprise if they don’t extend him this offseason or sometime prior to next winter, as he’s easily their most successful manager ever in terms of winning percentage (.548). The Rockies have made the playoffs in each of the well-regarded Black’s two seasons on the job and gone 178-147.
  • Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who underwent surgery in November to address an irregular heartbeat, told J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group and other reporters Saturday that he’s back at full strength. Pitching in the thin air of Colorado has been particularly problematic in recent years for Jansen, who was hospitalized after a game there last August, but trips to Coors Field won’t be an issue for him going forward. “If I’m hydrated I should be fine,” Jansen said.
  • Earlier this offseason, John Farrell interviewed for the Reds’ managerial position – a job that ultimately went to David Bell. While Farrell was among many runners-up in that derby, he’ll still work with the Reds in 2019, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. After serving as a scout and advisor last year, his first in Cincinnati, he’ll function as a pitching consultant during the upcoming season. Farrell, 56, is best known for his run as Boston’s manager from 2013-17, during which the team went 432-378, took home three division titles and won a World Series championship (’13).

NL Notes: Braves, Kimbrel, Dodgers, Jansen, Reds

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A few items from the National League…

  • Atlanta’s a speculative landing spot for closer Craig Kimbrel, who starred with the Braves from 2010-14 and is now the most proven reliever available in free agency. However, barring a drop in Kimbrel’s asking price, it’s “highly unlikely” he’ll rejoin the Braves this offseason, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. MLBTR predicts the 30-year-old Kimbrel will reel in a whopping $70MM guarantee, which could be too much for an Atlanta team that may not be in position to make a big-money splash this offseason, as general manager Alex Anthopoulos suggested last month. Anthopoulos has made it known the Braves are interested in adding a closer this winter, though, so whether it’s Kimbrel or someone else, it appears the club is primed to bring in some late-game help.
  • Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen announced Friday that he’ll undergo heart surgery Nov. 26, per Chad Thornburg of MLB.com. The procedure comes with a two- to eight-week recovery timeline, meaning Jansen should be fine by spring training. It’ll be the second heart surgery since 2012 for Jansen, who missed time with an irregular heartbeat that season and during both the 2011 and ’18 campaigns. The 31-year-old has been particularly susceptible to an irregular heartbeat at high altitude – the issue cropped up in Colorado in 2012, and he was hospitalized after a game at Coors Field last August. As a result, Jansen sat out a road series against the Rockies in September on doctors’ recommendation.
  • The Reds have hired J.R. House to serve as their third base coach and catching coach, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. The 39-year-old House will replace Billy Hatcher, who had been the Reds’ third base coach, and ex-catching coach Mike Stefanski, though it’s not yet known if those two will stay in the organization in different roles, per Sheldon. House, a former professional catcher and first basemen, spent the past seven seasons in player development with the Diamondbacks. He’s the third new hire for rookie manager David Bell, who previously tabbed Derek Johnson as the Reds’ pitching coach and Turner Ward as their hitting coach.
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