By Jordan Long
The L.A. Dodgers are looking at ways to improve their ball club. They won 106 games this season, the most in the National League. When it came to the postseason, they were eliminated by the Washington Nationals in game 5 of the National League Division Series. One position they shouldn’t change in 2020 is the closer role.
The Dodgers have relied on reliever Kenley Jansen for the past 8 years. Jansen is one of the most dependable closers in the game. When the Dodgers call on him to save games, Jansen will get the job done. He uses his fastball and hitters can’t catch up to it, ending in strikeouts. He saved 301 games in his career and added 903 strikeouts.
This past season, Jansen had his worst year in recent memory. When the Dodgers sent him into games, he allowed hits and walks which equaled traffic. When this happened, he blew the save. Jansen ended with 33 saves, his lowest total since 2013 when he had 28. Jansen blew 8 saves, the most in his career. His ERA was 3.71.
The Dodgers still ended up reaching the postseason despite Jansen’s tough year. In the Division Series loss to the Washington Nationals, Jansen pitched 1.2 innings but not in a save situation. He didn’t allow a hit but the Dodgers ended up losing in 5 games.
There are question marks if Jansen should be the closer in 2020 due to his poor season. The Dodgers will look at free agents to improve the bullpen. They may not make many moves since the bullpen ranked 4th in all of MLB with an ERA of 3.78. The closer position will still be Jansen’s unless he performs like he did this past season. If he allows base hits and can’t save games, the Dodgers will look elsewhere for a closer.
Leave a Reply