After losing out in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes, the Miami Marlins may have doubled down in their effort to sign Kenley Jansen. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets the Marlins have made a "monster offer" to Jansen of five years and more than $80 million.
The Marlins were considered a prime suitor in the race for Chapman because of his ties to South Florida, but the flame-throwing left-hander agreed to a five-year, $86 million deal late Wednesday night to return to the New York Yankees.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly was Jansen’s skipper with the Los Angeles Dodgers when the right-hander emerged as one of baseball’s elite closers. The 29-year-old Jansen saved 47 games with a minuscule 0.67 WHIP last season.
As for other suitors, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets the Washington Nationals are making a push for Jansen, joining the Marlins and Dodgers. Washington is looking for a closer after Mark Melancon left to sign a four-year deal with the Giants.
While the Chapman deal might accelerate the Dodgers' pursuit of a closer, there is still a "decent chance" they will leave the winter meetings without making another significant move, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
According to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, rival execs don't think the Dodgers will be willing to match the Marlins' reported offer.
-- Doug Mittler
