1 move the Dodgers made in 2016 will prevent the Angels from locking up Kenley Jansen

Kenley Jansen is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate due to the overwhelming success he had when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels' crosstown rivals. While Jansen was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the now 38-year-old posted a 2.37 ERA, 2.37 FIP, 0.93 WHIP, 13.05 K/9 with 350 saves in 12 MLB seasons. After the 2016 season, a 29-year-old Jansen was going to be a free agent, and the Dodgers made an obvious move that is going to prevent the Angels from cashing in on Jansen almost a decade later.

1 move the Dodgers made in 2016 will prevent the Angels from locking up Kenley Jansen

The Angels desperately need bullpen help in 2026, and Jansen might walk in free agency. However, the Halos might have been able to bring him back or receive draft capital if the Dodgers did not offer Jansen the qualifying offer. Given that Jansen was once offered the Q.O., he can no longer be offered it again per the collective bargaining agreement.

Now, the qualifying offer this year is worth $22 million, which would be a massive price to pay for a 38-year-old reliever. That would be a massive overpay on the Angels' side, but given the force multiplier that is new Angels pitching coach Mike Maddux, the massive need for a closer, and the invaluable veteran presence in the locker room...it would not have been the worst move in the world for the Angels to have hypothetically offered Jansen $22 million this offseason. He would not have declined that, as he made $10 million this year, but if he had then the Angels would have received an extra draft pick if he signed elsewhere during the offseason.

It remains to be seen where Jansen will wind up next year. He will likely take another one-year deal, and will gravitate towards a contender with an open closer role that will give him a pay raise from his $10 million figure from 2025. He is more than deserving of landing with an organization with World Series aspirations, as he was lights out for the Halos last year -- 2.59 ERA, 29 saves and 1 blown save in 59 innings.

The Angels have locks for the Opening Day bullpen in Robert Stephenson, Ben Joyce and Brock Burke. They have a semi-lock in Ryan Zeferjahn, who spent the majority of the season on the active roster but was wholly unimpressive. Then they have semi-intriguing options in Sam Bachman, Chase Silseth, José Fermin and Samy Natera Jr. for middle relief and Sam Aldegheri, Víctor Mederos, Jack Kochanowicz and Mitch Farris for long relief. The Angels need Jansen back to slot every single one of those options (before any free agency signing) into a more reasonable role. Again, they definitely would not have made Jansen a $22 million option...but it would have been nice to have the option.