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MLB Offseason: Ranking the Most Impactful Moves Thus Far

By Greg Goldstein

Jan 5, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians newly acquired player Edwin Encarnacion puts on his new jersey during a press conference at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians newly acquired player Edwin Encarnacion puts on his new jersey during a press conference at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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5. Los Angeles Dodgers Make a Flurry of (Re) Signings

Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

Kenley Jansen: 5 years, $80 million

Justin Turner: 4 years, $64 million

Rich Hill: 3 years, $48 million

After the Dodgers lost in the NLCS, Andrew Friedman knew that the core of this team was about to enter free agency. He risked losing one of his best hitters, his second best starting pitcher and one of the best closers in MLB. With that, we knew keeping the team intact, let alone improving the team would be a challenge. Still, the 2016 NL West champs were able to re-sign all three of their impending free agents.

Justin Turner, 32, suffered through a tough first half in 2016, but bounced backed in a big way during the second part of the regular season. Finishing with a career-high 27 home runs and an impressive WAR of 4.9 (Baseball Reference), the Dodgers knew that were not many third baseman available to replace that kind of production. So giving him a four-year deal with approximately $16 million a year was a no brainer.

Rich Hill was outstanding when he took the mound in 2016. The only problem was that the 37-year-old suffered through blister problems during through much of the season. Still, beefing up the rotation behind Clayton Kershaw was clearly an important task this winter. Kenta Maeda was solid in his first year in MLB and Julio Urias has a tremendous amount of potential. But neither is an extremely reliable option to hold down the fort if Kershaw were to get injured again. If the veteran left hander can stay on the field in 2017, he adds a tremendous value to a team that is looking to compete with the rotations of the Cubs and Giants.

Brining back Kenley Jansen may have been the most surprising move considering the amount of completion in the free agent closer market. Even with intense interest from Miami and Washington, the All-Star reliever reportedly took less money to re-up in Hollywood. Los Angeles’ bullpen would have been a major question mark if the Dodgers were unable to retain Jansen. Now, Dave Roberts can use his All-Star closer as a shield to the rest of his relief staff, which will help to keep the Dodgers in prime position to reach the NLCS once again.

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