There is no doubt that the Dodgers made a real effort to repurchase the longtime closer Kenley Jansen. Eventually, Jansen ended up signing a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves.
The Dodgers organization, from Dave Roberts, to Clayton Kershaw, to Andrew Friedman, would definitely have Jansen back with the organization.
According to The LA Times’ Jorge Castillo, the luxury tax rate included in the new CBA was the defining denominator in Dodger’s decision not to ink Jansen.
“The Dodgers were one of the few clubs willing to commit to two years. But the situation was complicated when they agreed on a six-year, $ 162 million deal with former Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman last Wednesday. produced a new wrinkle: To keep their payroll below $ 290 million and avoid the resulting 80% tax rate, the Dodgers wanted Jansen to wait until they lost the payroll before signing. ”
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Basically, Jansen did not want to risk his payday by waiting for the Dodgers to clear space to re-sign him. Athletics Fabian Ardaya reporting confirmed that theory from Jansen himself.
“Two days before I signed with the Braves, I started to feel like the Dodgers needed to make things happen … That’s when I had to make the decision to pick another, and I chose the Braves.”
It was not personal, it was purely business.
By all accounts, Dodgers-Jansen was an amicable split. The organization released a one-minute, 34-second tribute video that served as a “thank you” to the franchise’s all-time save leader.
Even for the Dodgers’ big expenses, signing Jansen to a multi-year deal was too far-fetched.