Should the Cubs kick the tire on a trade for Kenley Jansen? |
To say the 2023-24 MLB offseason has been a disappointment would be an understatement. It has been especially disappointing for the Chicago Cubs as they have yet to do anything besides bringing in Craig Counsell. After hearing Jed Hoyer speak about how much money this team had and how aggressive they would be to now be the only team without an MLB deal is laughable.
That shows you that either he needs to learn how to put the money where his mouth is or that he isn't as aggressive as some would think. There have also been reports that either the Cubs didn't make reported offers to players that they were supposedly in on, while other players have said they didn't feel that winning was the most important thing to the Cubs. If the latter part of that is true, that is a much bigger issue than Hoyer and needs to be addressed in the future. With Pitchers and catchers reporting in roughly a month and spring training games 50 days away, there will either be a bevy of free-agent action in the coming weeks or tons of players waiting until the last minute to sign with teams. The Cubs hope that doesn't happen to them, but given what they have done so far, does anyone believe this team will be getting aggressive leading up to Spring? With several holes on this roster, the Cubs have narrowed it down to what holes they want to fill in free agency and which may need to be addressed via a trade. Yet, the bullpen is one area that needs to be discussed, and it should be when you look at what this team went through last season. Sure, Adbert Alzolay, Mark Leiter Jr, Julian Merryweather, and Luke Little will be back, but it will take a lot more than them to shoulder the load. Could Daniel Palencia be a gut to break through this season? What about Keegan Thompson rounding back to form? Either way, the Cubs know they will need to do something to make the bullpen better and essentially deeper than it has been. One thing Counsell loved when it came to the Brewers was their bullpen depth and the amount of arms he could deploy in different situations. He doesn't have that luxury right now, but one trade could give him that luxury, with Kenley Jansen being a guy the Cubs should look into. There was a time from 2014-2019 when you could make the case that Jansen was the most dominating closer in the game. Armed with his 96 MPH heater and backed with a 94 MPH cutter, Jansen was a two-pitch pitcher who was so good at what he did that he didn't need another pitch.
However, once 2020 started, Jansen dealt with a series of injuries, including a heart condition, and has missed a decent amount of time. Despite all those struggles, he continues to be a very good reliever, but not elite anymore, and an addition to him in the Cubs bullpen would give this team another late-inning arm to lean on in clutch situations.
With the Red Sox looking to shed salary and Jansen having one year and 16 million dollars remaining, he seems like an ideal trade chip that many teams would be looking into. One advantage the Cubs could have over other teams is Craig Breslow, who left the Cubs organization for a much higher position in Boston. His relationship with the Cubs and Hoyer could be something to keep an eye on if these teams discuss Jansen as an option.
Although his best days may be behind, especially in terms of elite Jansen, he still led the league in saves with 41 in 2022 as a member of the Braves before backing that up with 29 more last season.
ERA-wise, you can see the biggest hit, as he is no longer in the low 2.00 range and finished off 2023 with a 3.64 ERA. That is undoubtedly a concern for any closer, but his strikeout percentage was a career-low 27.7 percent, which may be the more significant concern.
Ironically, his walk percentage was in line with his career numbers (except during his peak years) at nine percent, so it's not like he is losing command. Evan, at 35 years old, Jansen still has the same velocity he once had, so there has to be something deeper as to why he struggled so much at times last season.
Jansen may not be the same pitcher he was in 2017, but he can still pitch and close out games. That is something the Cubs could use, as no one knows how Alzolay will fare this year after the late-season forearm injury. Worst comes to worse, the Cubs bring him in as another late-inning arm and let the pieces fall into place. Counsell would be all for that, and something the Cubs should get on board with.
