St. Louis Cardinals reportedly not interested in Kenley Jansen

While the St. Louis Cardinals surely like Kenley Jansen, they reportedly are not interested in the All-Star — and it comes down to price.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been connected to almost every reliever, including Joe Kelly, Collin McHugh, Ryan Tepera and Andrew Chafin, among others. But one reliever that they have not been linked to is Kenley Jansen, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ All-Star reliever.

There appears to be a reason why.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that he has not heard the Cardinals connected to Jansen at all. Goold added that the Cardinals have spoken to “just about every agent about just about every reliever,” so it’s likely that the team spoke to Jansen’s representatives. But the odds of Jansen ending up in St. Louis appears almost zero.

Quite frankly, this is not surprising, especially after recent reports suggested that Kelly would be out of the Cardinals’ price range on a multi-year deal worth $6-7 million annually. Jansen, meanwhile, could land a three-year deal worth as much as $40 million, perhaps even more, and there is no way the Cardinals would be able to afford that.

Especially with so many holes remaining on the Cardinals’ roster. They want to add another starting pitcher and add depth on offense. While the offensive piece may be more complimentary, with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggested multiple times that Collin Moran could be a fit, they could target another veteran starting pitcher to eat meaningful innings.

If the Cardinals signed Jansen, none of that would be possible. It’s always made Jansen a highly unlikely free-agent target. Expect the Cardinals to sign two relievers – possibly Brad Boxberger and Andrew Chafin – and use the rest of their money to upgrade other areas of the roster.

While Jansen would certainly upgrade the closer position, it’s not happening.