In addition to free agency and potential personnel changes, another storyline to follow this offseason involves Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and his heart surgery set to take place on Nov. 26.
It’ll be the second time Jansen undergoes such an operation, and one that was deemed necessary by cardiologists after the 30-year-old experienced an irregular heartbeat during the Dodgers’ road trip to Colorado in August.
Jansen is slated to make a full recovery within the range of two-to-eight weeks. Even if it takes the maximum amount of time, he is still expected to be ready to go for the start of Spring Training.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is optimistic that the operation won’t have any effect on Jansen’s offseason workout routine and throwing program, via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
“There is no real time pressure because doing it in the next few weeks, it will be a limited amount of downtime,” Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, said at the general managers meetings this month. “He’ll be able to start working out again. It won’t interfere with his throwing program at all.”
By tackling the surgery now rather than wait for the new year, Jansen will have an ample amount of time to make his way back by the time pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch in February.
The Dodgers hope this is the case, as Jansen missed the majority of Spring Training after being eased into the regular season. The right-hander was ineffective early on as a result, though he managed to bounce back as the year progressed.
