New York Yankees: Is a Dellin Betances Extension On the Way?

After adding Aroldis Chapman for the long-term this winter, the New York Yankees may want to lock up their other dominant reliever as well.

Spending on the bullpen seems to be all the rage in today’s MLB. Three different relievers set the record for a contract for a relief pitcher this offseason, and it looks like more could follow suit in the years to come. However, it doesn’t look like teams, at least in those in the larger markets, are limiting their big spending to just one reliever.

After inking the hard throwing Aroldis Chapman to a five-year, $86 million deal earlier this winter, Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees front office have seemingly turned to negotiating with their presumptive setup man on what should be a lucrative contract extension.

According to Dan Martin of the New York Post, 28-year-old (29 in March) right-hander Dellin Betances has started dialogue on a long-term deal. However, Martin also mentioned that he and the Yankees were far apart in the talks, which led to them having to go to arbitration in the near future.

"“Based on all of our discussions, it was clear our different perspectives were at such a wide bridge, that we’ll go out and basically have a polite discussion about market value and history of where the marketplace sits versus attempts for a new market creation,” said Brian Cashman."

(Quote from the New York Post)

Betances is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2019 season. He filed for a salary of $5 million for this upcoming season, while the Yankees set their price at $3 million. Obviously this number will increase as long as Betances keeps producing at a high level. He’s made the All-Star team for three consecutive years even though his ERA did spike considerably from 1.50 in 2015 to 3.05 in 2016. This may be a little deceiving considering that his FIP actually dropped this past year (2.48 to 1.78).

After the Yankees traded both Chapman and Andrew Miller in July, Betances was given the opportunity to close games over the last couple months of the regular season. While he was moderately successful, the reliever was clearly not as comfortable in the role given that he worked as a setup man since his full-time move to the bullpen in 2014.

Still, his dominance is well noted considering that he’s one of the best in the game at striking hitters out, posting a league-best 15.5 K/9 by last season’s end.

More from Call to the Pen

Coming to a long-term agreement may be best as it could be detrimental to the club’s relationship with Betances if they were to have to go to arbitration hearings year-in and year-out until he is a free agent. The Yankees may also be able to negotiate another year of control as some other teams have done during this offseason.

The extension would most likely be rather expensive as Betances is in his prime and undoubtedly one of the more dominant relievers in the game. Mark Melancon, who does not have the peripheral numbers of Betances, accepted a four-year pact with the San Francisco Giants for $62 million. While Betances doesn’t have the closing experience of the new Giants reliever, his potential in this role may be higher given his pure stuff and high strikeout rate. I’m not sure if the Yankees are going to want to meet this high price, especially given the fact that he’s under team control for the near future.

It does seem that the Yankees are open to a contract extension, but no one should expect that deal to come to fruition soon given the recent arbitration negotiations between the two sides.

Next: Yankees Right to Keep Prospects

What do you think about the Yankees’ potential long-term deal with Betances? Do you think that it’s worth it to extend a player who is under team control? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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