The New York Yankees will enter the offseason with a major need to address the bullpen.
Despite surprisingly being named an All-Star this summer, Clay Holmes has lost the closer role in what has been one of the worst seasons by a Yankees closer in franchise history.
While most of the attention will be spent on the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the Yankees need to find an upgrade at closer this winter, especially with Holmes set to hit free agency.
They could try out Luke Weaver, who has shown promise in that role during the month of September. Or, they could look to land a big fish in free agency.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, the Yankees are one of the top landing spots for Boston Red Sox All-Star closer Kenley Jansen.
"Big-market teams will loom as threats to sign Jansen once again," Cotillo wrote. "The Yankees are a strong match and Jansen has made it clear he’d love to be back with the Dodgers at some point in his career."
The 36-year-old may be past his prime, but he's still pitching at a very high level. Jansen has a 3.42 ERA with 61 strikeouts, 20 walks and a 1.10 WHIP in 52.2 innings pitched this season. He also has 27 saves in 31 opportunities.
Jansen projects to have a market value of $14.7 million per year, according to Spotrac. Whether the Yankees would want to pay that after hypothetically re-signing Soto remains to be seen.
Though the Yankees currently hold the best record in the American League at 89-63 and were the first AL team to clinch a playoff spot, the road to this point would have been far less stressful with a closer like Jansen holding down the back end of the bullpen.
It will be interesting to see where he lands, but the Yankees appear to be a name to keep any eye on for the veteran.
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