Dodgers Trade Pitch Swaps Prospect for Reunion With $16 Million All-Star

Getty Kenley Jansen is the all-time saves leader in Los Angeles Dodgers history

The Los Angeles Dodgers are now set to bring back franchise starter Clayton Kershaw, but that might not be the only high-profile reunion for the team’s pitching staff this offseason.

Addressing the Dodgers’ need for an impact late-inning arm, Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report wrote that they could trade pitching prospect Maddux Bruns to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for reliever Kenley Jansen and cash considerations.

“Jansen could still be in play for the Dodgers,” Rymer noted. “They know him well from their previous 12-year partnership, and he’s still going strong. Better than strong, even, as last year saw the 36-year-old add 2 mph to his cutter.”

How a Reunion With Kenley Jansen Could Impact the Los Angeles Dodgers Bullpen

Jansen emerged as one of the best closers in baseball during his time in Los Angeles, earning three all-star bids as well as votes for the rookie of the year, Cy Young and MVP awards between 2010 and 2021 with the Dodgers. 

In 2022, Jansen signed a one-year, $16 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. After posting a career-high for games finished in the following season, he agreed to a two-year, $32 million contract with the Red Sox and went on to make his fourth All-Star Game in 2023.

As Rymer noted, an impressive 2023 season suggests Jansen still has a lot to offer a bullpen. And with the most recent shakeups in the Dodgers’ relief corps, it seems they still have room for a hurler of his caliber. The team recently re-signed Ryan Brasier, but also traded Caleb Ferguson to the New York Yankees.

“…the Dodgers seem more focused on adding a high-leverage reliever, perhaps … the Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen in a trade,” Ken Rosenthal reported for The Athletic, just before the Braiser deal was announced.

If Jansen comes aboard, it seems that 2023’s saves leader Evan Phillips would still retain the closer role. But he could certainly help pickup some of the 67.1 innings that had been handled by Ferguson last season.

Trading Away Prospect Maddux Bruns Could Get a Deal Done With the Boston Red Sox

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of this proposed trade from the Dodgers’ point of view would be the relatively small asking price for Jansen. 

Though Bruns has shown promise, his performance as a 21-year-old in Single- and High-A last season suggests he is a high-risk gamble to become a reliable starter at the big-league level. In 20 starts for High-A affiliate the Great Lakes Loons last season, he was touched for a 4.74 ERA and earned no wins and seven losses.

But as the Red Sox appear to be more focused on the future than on winning in 2024, he might be the kind of gamble that interests them.

“If they’re going to do a deal like that, Bruns is the platonic ideal of the kind of prospect they could hope to get back,” Rymer reported. “His stuff (i.e. a high-90s fastball and a low-90s cutter) is precisely what the Red Sox are now looking for under Craig Breslow.”

If the Red Sox are indeed selling before the season, there’s reason to believe the Dodgers could soon reunite with their all-time franchise saves leader.