Dodgers Rumors: Melancon Signing Clears Path to Jansen

I don’t know about you, but when I heard that the Giants took closer Mark Melancon off the market, a big smile crossed my Dodgers-loving face. With Melancon locked up and Aroldis Chapman asking for an insanely long six-year deal, it looks like the team will almost certainly re-sign superstar closer Kenley Jansen. 

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Aside from Jansen, the team’s most likely target for the ninth inning was Melancon since his contract, though super pricey, would not enter the same crazy realm as Jansen and Chapman. Before the Dodgers’ arch rival signed Melancon, I was seriously losing sleep because having Jansen back to sew up games for the next four or five years is absolutely critical.

The club had a chance to re-sign Jansen last off-season, but chose to wait it out and see if cheaper options, Chris Hatcher or Pedro Baez could show closer stuff. Um, no, that didn’t happen. Major fail. You have to take your hat off to Jansen for proving the front office so wrong, especially with his stellar play and total heart in the playoffs. Now the team will have to pay up.

Any thoughts the front office had of getting Melancon for cheaper and therefore holding onto its draft pick when Jansen left, pretty much just went up in smoke. There is no way the Dodgers will sign a six-year deal with Chapman–it’s just not what these guys do. There is a rumor that the team put out feelers for the Royals’ Wade Davis, but that appears to just be a back-up if they lose their grip on Jansen. This move by the Giants and the sheer greedy demands of Chapman should lead Andrew Friedman and Co. back where it should have never strayed in the first place: the home grown talent of Kenley Jansen.

Next: Dodgers Lock Up Rich Hill

You never know what will happen, but I think I’ll sleep a little better with Melancon out of the picture. I never thought I would be saying this, but thank you so much, San Francisco Giants.