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We’ve heard for several weeks now that the Marlins were interested in acquiring one of the heavyweight free agent closers. Mark Melancon was the first relief ace off the board, signing with the San Francisco Giants for $62 million dollars over four years.
Then, the news dropped a short while ago that Aroldis Chapman will be returning to the Bronx as he has agreed with the New York Yankees on a five year, $86 million dollar deal.
Almost immediately following the revelation of Chapman’s deal, we had a series of revealing tweets from some of the most reputable sources in baseball reporting:
Source: Marlins made big run at Aroldis Chapman. Kenley Jansen still in play, but there are worries about giving up 13th overall pick.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 8, 2016
The Dodgers hold an obvious advantage over the Marlins: They don't have to give up a draft pick to sign Jansen.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) December 8, 2016
Marlins have been determined to get a closer. All eyes are on jansen now.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 8, 2016
Sources: The Marlins have made a monster offer for Kenley Jansen -- almost at the level of Aroldis Chapman. Five years, more than $80M.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 8, 2016
Lot of sentiment among #Marlins to retain pick and allocate $$ elsewhere. But is best bet to win in '17 to sign Jansen? Miami tough call
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) December 8, 2016
There has undoubtedly been serious discussion back and forth in the Marlins war room about whether or not to punt the 13th overall pick in favor of Jansen, but the side in favor seems to have won out if Passan’s last tweet is to be believed.
Jansen, who will turn 30 at the end of the 2017 season, has evolved into one of the game’s premier relief pitchers. Armed with a dominant cutter ala Mariano Rivera, he has frequented the upper echelon of the strikeout to walk ratio chart since his debut back in 2010. His 3.2 fWAR last season was tops in baseball amongst qualified relievers.
In short, if signed, he would give the Marlins one of the most potent late game weapons in all of baseball. The question is no longer if the Marlins are seriously interested in Kenley Jansen, it’s whether or not Kenley Jansen is interested in becoming a Miami Marlin.