Dellin Betances, who had spent all of his career with the New York Yankees, will change teams in 2020, but not cities: he will be a member of a revamped New York Mets bullpen that looks very good on paper.
He will be trying to regain his best version after spending the majority of last season dealing with a myriad of injuries. When spring training originally started back in March, he was a little behind his Mets teammates, getting daily treatment on his left Achilles tendon. That’s why, according to Tim Healy of Newsday, he sees the 3+ month-hiatus as a “blessing in disguise.”
In March, he was operating in the low-90s after spending his career flirting with the high-90s. However, the time off allowed him to properly rehab his left Achilles tendon. On Sunday, he pitched to Mets teammates Jed Lowrie, Melky Cabrera, Eduardo Nuñez and Matt Adams during live batting practice, and he felt good. And although he says he didn’t know what his fastball velo was, he allowed only one single in seven at-bats.
“It’s better than spring training, I’ll tell you that,†said Betances.
The reliever said his plan is to get six or seven additional simulated games, making it feel like a “normal spring.”
He pitched to former Yankees and Mets teammates
Near the end of the halt, he pitched to former teammates Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and former Mets infielders Todd Frazier and Joe Panik, as they all trained in the tri-state area.
The New York Mets are certainly hoping that Betances can regain the form that made him perhaps the most consistently dominant reliever in the American League between 2014 and 2018.
In those five seasons, Betances was third in K/9 (14.63) eight in ERA (2.22) fourth in FIP (2.26) third in xFIP (2.28) second in fWAR (11.2) second in holds (117) first in innings pitched (373.1 IP) first in strikeouts (607) fourth in K% (40.3) sixth in SIERA (2.17) and had the eighth-lowest contact percentage (65.5.) He was an absolute beast, and if the Mets can get at least 85 percent of that reliever, they will be in excellent position.