Report: Dodgers re-sign Jansen and are close to bringing back Justin Turner as well

The Dodgers are fresh off their fourth straight NL West title and two integral pieces could be returning, despite their status as free agents. Third baseman Justin Turner and closer Kenley Jansen are expected to cost a ton in free agency, but the Dodgers have plenty of financial resources. To wit, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise:

Rosenthal has further reported now that there is an agreement with Jansen on a five-year, $ 80 million deal. That is the second-largest free agent deal ever for a reliever, behind Aroldis Chapman’s five-year, $ 86 million pact with the Yankees.

Turner, 32, hit .275/.339/.493 with 34 doubles, 27 home runs and 90 RBI last season. Without Turner, the Dodgers don’t really have a viable replacement at third and there aren’t any other good options in free agency. So if the Dodgers didn’t agree with him, they would have to set out to make a trade, in all likelihood.

Similar sentiment goes for Jansen, as the other big-name closers in free agency are already signed and the best fallback option on the roster is probably Pedro Baez. Jansen closed down 47 games in 53 chances with a 1.83 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 104 strikeouts against only nine unintentional walks in 68 2/3 innings last season.

Jansen going back with the Dodgers means the Marlins and Nationals are left out here. The Marlins were actually reportedly infatuated with getting either Chapman or Jansen, so they’ll be headed back to the drawing board with fallback options like Brad Ziegler. As for the Nationals, perhaps they can get back with the White Sox — they traded for Adam Eaton last week — and grab David Robertson?

As for Turner, there weren’t really any other big-time suitors, so the return to L.A. makes a lot of sense. There were whispers (Cardinals), but nothing really concrete.

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