The Washington Nationals were among the teams to bolster their bullpen prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, acquiring closer Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Melancon to that point had 30 saves with a 1.51 ERA, 2.67 FIP and 0.96 WHIP in 45 games.
After joining the Nationals, the right-hander pitched to a 1.82 ERA, 2.07 FIP and 0.81 WHIP with 17 saves in 30 games. Now the 31-year-old is one of three closers on the open market who’s drawing plenty of interest.
Multiple teams are pursuing Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Melancon, which should lead to each signing for more than the four-year, $50 million Jonathan Papelbon received from the Philadelphia Phillies in November 2011, which set the record for a relief pitcher.
For the Nationals, they have interest in Melancon, but also Chapman and Jansen, per ESPN’s Jim Bowden:
The Washington Nationals are committed to landing an impact closer and will make a strong effort to land either Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman or re-sign Mark Melancon. They’ll also try to persuade the Indians to deal Andrew Miller for a package of top pitching prospects.
Jansen converted 47 saves with a 1.83 ERA and 0.67 WHIP. He finished tied for second in the Majors in saves, and led qualified NL closers in WHIP and strikeouts (104).
Should the Nationals sign Jansen it will require them to forfeit their first unprotected pick in the 2017 Draft, as he’s expected to reject the one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer.
Jansen this season was named to his first All-Star Game, and received the 2016 Trevor Hoffman Award, which is presented to the top reliever in the National League.
Along with the Nationals, Jansen has received reported interest from the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
