Dellin Betances was maybe the New York Mets‘ most important free agent signing of the offseason. Sure, if Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha work out, that sentence could be subject for reconsideration, but right now, the bullpen needed someone with Betances’ pedigree and ability.
The former Yankee signed on Christmas Eve, and when he did it, Carlos Beltran (his close friend) was supposed to be his manager. A couple of months later, that’s no longer the case but Betances is still highly commited to the Mets.
“I felt bad at the time for him,†Betances said to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “Obviously, I gave him his space. He has a beautiful family that’s helped him through this process. For me, I’m just excited for our new manager, Luis Rojas. I think a lot of our players are excited about him.â€
He doesn’t want to concentrate on “what could have been” with Beltran. Instead, he needs to show that he will be fully healthy and cleared to dominate opposing teams from opening day. He is well on his way to do it.
The Mets’ star reliever is already throwing bullpens
By now, Betances has thrown multiple bullpen sessions. The most recent one was yesterday. Barring something unexpected, he will be ready to take the hill in the first day of the season. That wasn’t a given back in September when he suffered a partial Achilles tear.
Thankfully, it was that: partial. That gave him plenty of time to recover in time. Before that, Betances had missed almost all of the 2019 season with shoulder issues.
Betances’ offseason was full of ankle exercises to strengthen the area. “I’m confident,†he said. “I put in a lot of work this offseason, a lot of hours to make sure that I came into camp ready. I feel good at this point.â€
From 2014 to 2018 Betances was arguably the best and most consistently dominant reliever in the American League. During that timeframe he was third in K/9 (14.63) eight in ERA (2.22) fourth in FIP (2.26) second in fWAR (11.2) and first in strikeouts (607.)
If healthy, he should set up for closer Edwin Diaz for the New York Mets, joining a seemingly formidable bullpen alongside Seth Lugo, Justin Wilson, Jeurys Familia, Robert Gsellman and whoever loses the fifth starter battle.