Kenley Jansen signs 5-year, $80M deal to remain with the Dodgers

Closer Kenley Jansen has agreed to a five-year, $80 million deal with the Dodgers after flirting in the free agent market with the Florida Marlins.

According to ESPN’s Jim Bowden, Jansen’s deal is the second-largest free agent reliever contract in baseball history, just behind the $86 million deal Aroldis Chapman signed with the Yankees earlier this month.

The key cog in the Dodgers bull pen, Jansen posted 47 saves in 71 appearances in 2016, with an impressive 1.83 ERA and career-best .670 WHIP. With 189 career saves, Jansen is the all-time saves leader in Dodger history after passing former record holder Eric Gagne earlier this year.

A converted catcher who reinvented himself as a power pitcher with a deadly cut-fastball, Jansen is a feel good story and a key member of a Dodgers team that will look to end their 28-year World Series drought.