For a second consecutive offseason the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are directly competing for marquee free agents. Last winter the rivals went toe-to-toe for Zack Greinke, though he ultimately signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks after they submitted an 11th-hour offer.
It’s believed the Dodgers also had interest in Johnny Cueto, who signed with the Giants. Now Los Angeles and San Francisco find themselves in the market for a closer. Thus far, the Dodgers have most prominently been linked to Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen.
While the Giants have been tied to Chapman, Jansen and Mark Melancon. According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, a Giants team official is confident the club will sign one of the three:
Giants official early this week: "We are getting one of the big closers." Mark Melancon scheduled to be in SF today for an in-person visit.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 11, 2016
The Giants met with representatives of Chapman, Jansen and Melancon this week. Chapman and Jansen have also fielded interest from the New York Yankees, and the Washington Nationals reportedly have interest in re-signing Melancon.
Signing one of the big three closers would be a significant boon to the Giants bullpen. They led the Majors with 30 blown saves, the most by any team that still reached the postseason. Their bullpen trouble played a role in the Dodgers coming from eight games back to win the National League West.
Jansen converted 47 saves with a 1.83 ERA and 0.67 WHIP this season. He finished tied for second in the Majors in saves, and led qualified NL closers in WHIP and strikeouts (104). Melancon also had 47 saves, pitching to a 1.64 ERA, 2.42 FIP and 0.90 WHIP.
Chapman recorded 36 saves with a 1.55 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. His 40.5 percent strikeout rate trailed Jansen’s 41.4 percent, but both were far superior to Melancon’s 24.1 percent.
Each of the closers is expected to sign a deal that exceeds the four-year, $50 million contract Jonathan Papelbon signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011 that holds as the largest for a reliever.
