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Dodgers going bold for Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner

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Turner a necessary piece for middle of Dodgers' order (0:47)

Doug Padilla reports the Dodgers are close to finalizing a deal with Justin Turner and breaks down what his re-signing means for the team. (0:47)

LOS ANGELES -- Oh to be a fly on the wall this past weekend during that Kenley Jansen wedding, which included Justin Turner as a guest.

The nuptials, which took place in Jansen's native Curacao, also included Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke, all of whom were seen together in an Instagram photo.

But Jansen and Turner were the only two at the party awaiting a big-time payday, with rumors circulating that the Dodgers could afford only one in-house free agent, and not both. Adding to that was the growing suspicion that Turner was the Dodgers' man of choice.

Maybe the Dodgers' wedding present to their franchise leader in saves (189) and strikeouts by a reliever (632) was to give him enough of a compensation package to stay.

On Monday, two days after Jansen said "I do," the Dodgers are apparently ready to say "Welcome back," to both their closer and third baseman in deals that would total $144 million.

For the record, the Dodgers have reportedly agreed to a five-year, $80 million deal with Jansen, and are closing in on a four-year, $64 million pack with Turner. That would be exactly $16 million per season to each guy, which leaves little bragging rights, unless Jansen wants to rib his wedding guest over that additional year.

So what gives on the news earlier this winter that the Dodgers needed to cut their operating debt to get into compliance with Major League Baseball rules?

Well, the Dodgers decided they could not live without Turner and Jansen, not to mention Rich Hill, who was re-signed last week. And Major League Baseball happened to mention that they have no issues with the debt the Dodgers are carrying at the present time.

And besides, as the Los Angeles Times reports, the luxury tax increase will be phased in, meaning it won't be as harsh in the upcoming season as it will ultimately in 2018.

It all let the Dodgers reassemble the major pieces from a 2016 season, when they came two victories from their first World Series appearance since 1988. With Hill on board for the entire 2017 season, and better team health expected after 28 players went to the disabled list, the Dodgers are confident they can make another run at the National League champion Chicago Cubs.

Sure the Dodgers will get their finances under control one day soon, but they still wanted to keep a World Series in reach for 2017, which is not a bad idea considering they did raise ticket and parking prices.

So how will the Dodgers get over the hump this year when they still have not adequately addressed their problem of hitting against left-handers?

For one, they have not closed the door on adding a right-handed second baseman, although they likely won't spend big for one, even if there was a free agent they liked. And they are not expected to unload a glut of top prospects for one, even if the Twins' Brian Dozier would be just the kind of second baseman the Dodgers could use.

If the Dodgers don't end up adding an impact second baseman, they at least will go into 2017 knowing they could not possibly be as bad against left-handed pitching as they were last year. It's not the most inspiring concept, but certainly part of the reason improvement might be seen.

Those numbers against left-handers were historically bad, as in top-five bad in baseball history, at least going back to when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. The Dodgers batted just .213 against lefties with a .622 OPS. Both numbers easily were the worst in baseball last season.

With as many as seven outfielders available, the Dodgers could end up rotating their pieces to better attack left-handed pitching next season. And the right-handed hitting Turner, who did everything well in 2016 except producing against lefties, does not figure to have the same issues in 2017.

But the bulk of the Dodgers' talent still hits from the left side. Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and Yasmani Grandal (a switch hitter, who is far better from the left side), will need to defy the matchups and produce no matter who they are hitting against.

Yet the Dodgers did have that two-games-to-one lead in the NLCS and now they have most of that 2016 team back in the fold for 2017.

Maybe Jansen and Turner were in Curacao on Saturday and got to talking about how close the Dodgers were last season and how much they wished they could have another chance together. Maybe the Dodgers will look back at the Jansen wedding as the day their 2017 season came together.

The Dodgers would toast to that.