With the Dodger's resigning of Kenley Jansen for five years and $80 million, the last of the "big three" closers has signed, after Mark Melancon and Aroldis Chapman signed with the Giants and Yankees, respectively. On the strength of the nastiest cutter since Mariano Rivera, Jansen has established himself as arguably baseball's best closer (a distinction disputed by Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, Aroldis Chapman, and Mark Melancon), posting a WHIP above 0.85 just once in the past five seasons. Last year may have been Jansen's best, as he set career bests in ERA (1.83), WHIP (0.67), and saves (47). Opponents batted just .150 against him, striking out 104 times in 68.2 innings while walking just 11 times. He allowed just 35 hits (and 48 total baserunners when you add in 11 walks and 2 hit batsmen) over those 68.2 innings. In Game Five of the NLDS against the Nationals, he showed his value by pitching 2.1 shutout innings on 51 pitches before handing the ball to "closer" Clayton Kershaw. In case you're wondering, yes, it was painful to watch. He did it again with three perfect innings in Game Six of the NLCS against the Cubs, but the Dodgers were already losing 5-0 when he came in. For his career, the Curacao native is 19-13 with a 2.20 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP (!), and 189 saves over 409 appearances, all with the Dodgers.
No comments:
Post a Comment