Dellin Betances could fill in as closer of the New York Yankees come Opening Day. He could also have ran away with the job by the time Aroldis Chapman returns.
In the wake of 2015’s closer Andrew Miller chipping a bone in his non-throwing wrist and Aroldis Chapman‘s 30-day suspension for domestic violence, the New York Yankees once intimidating bullpen has taken quite a hit over the last couple weeks.
Originally, it was a bullpen that was drawing comparisons to the 2014 and 2015 Royals’ as being one of the most capable units in the game. The timetable for Miller’s return is less clear than Chapman’s. Now, manager Joe Girardi will likely turn to Manhattan-born right-hander Dellin Betances to close out games in the month of April.
Make no mistake — this is a role Betances is capable of running away with even when Chapman or Miller returns. He’s been used in high leverage situations out of the bullpen for the better part of the last two seasons and he has the tools to be an elite closer not only for the Yankees, but just about anywhere.
He’s finished games off before in his career. Betances has 10 combined saves from 2014-15 in 18 opportunities. He has fared much better in the setup role since 2014. The 6-foot-8 behemoth posted a 1.25 ERA in non save situations in 2014, compared to 1.67 in save opportunities.
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In 2015, where he saw more ninth inning duties, Betances posted a ridiculous 0.94 ERA in save situations through 47.2 IP. It’s a bit of a paradox though, because Betances’ ERA in the ninth inning of games last year was 3.26, compared to only 0.81 in the eighth inning of contests.
All in all, Betances is a filthy pitcher. His average ERA over the last two seasons is 1.45 with a FIP of 2.05. He mows hitters down too. From 2014-15 only Chapman, Miller and Kenley Jansen have a higher K/9 rate that Betances’ 13.76 for relievers with 100-plus IP. However, no one comes close to Betances’ 266 accumulative punch outs during that time frame. Chapman ranks second with 222.
Like soon to be Hall of Fame closer and former Yankee Mariano Rivera, Bentances utilizes a highly effective cut fastball to go along with his regular fastball and knuckle-curve. The cutter sat at 96.3 mph in 2015 and the fastball at an even 97. With that kind of velocity, it was still the knuckle-curve that most would-be-hitters fell victim to in 2015. He struck out 55 percent of guys on that pitch.
The knuckle-curve was actually less effective last year than it was during the 2014 season when Betances sat down 63.6 percent of players when offering it. However, he did improve his strikeout numbers with his fastball and cutter from 2014. Last year he struck out 21.6 percent on the fastball and 34.8 on the cutter, compared to only 15.3 and 8.3 percent in 2014, respectively.
If all three arms of Chapman, Betances and Miller are functioning and healthy, the bullpen unit of the New York Yankees might prove to be nearly unbeatable in 2016. All three are capable of playing as elite shut down men within MLB.
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If Miller misses 4-6 weeks and Chapman stumbles out the gates upon his return while Betances is putting up numbers similar to what he had over the last two seasons, don’t be surprised to see Girardi stick with him.