Rockies' Bettis Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer

By ESPN

Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis has been diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery to have one of his testicles removed in late November, he said in a statement to ESPN on Monday night.

Bettis, 27, said he expects to make a full recovery and will be ready to report for spring training in Arizona in February and be part of Colorado's starting rotation in 2017.

"During an appointment in November, my doctor noticed an abnormality and ordered further tests and advanced blood work," Bettis said in a statement released through his agent, Matt Sosnick. "The following Monday, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had one of my testicles removed the next day, on Tuesday, November 29.

"I was completely caught off-guard by my diagnosis but have subsequently found that the vast majority of cases occur in men 20 to 40 years of age and that the survival rate is 99 percent when contained and caught early. This only reinforces my belief that each of us needs to be totally in tune with our own physical health, and that taking action sooner than later when we feel like something is off can sometimes literally be the difference between life and death.

"The surgeon is very confident that the cancer was isolated and has not spread and that my ability to have children should not be affected. The Rockies and the MLBPA have been great, and I truly appreciate the care and support shown by [general manager] Jeff Bridich to both me and my family.

"My understanding is that I will be physically ready to have a normal spring training, and I greatly look forward to the upcoming season. I thank my friends and family for their love and kindness and ask that privacy be shown to both my wife and myself until spring training begins."

Jansen, Dodgers Agree To  Deal

Kenley Jansen and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a five-year, $80 million deal, a Dodgers source confirmed to ESPN's Jim Bowden on Monday.

Jansen had a trio of teams chasing him as finalists for his services: the Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins and Dodgers. League sources told Bowden that Jansen had better offers from both the Nationals and Marlins but wanted to stay home and was willing to take less to do it.

Jansen's deal is the second-largest free-agent reliever contract in history, behind Aroldis Chapman's five-year, $86 million deal with the Yankees from last week.

Jansen recorded 47 saves in 71 appearances for the Dodgers in 2016, finishing the year with a 1.83 ERA. He was the recipient of Major League Baseball's 2016 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award.

After a June 20 save against the Washington Nationals, Jansen became the all-time saves leader in Dodgers history, passing Eric Gagne's previous record of 161. Jansen finished the year with 189 saves. His 632 strikeouts as a reliever also passed Jim Brewer's club record of 604.