Santa and his bag of gifts came a day early for the Mets this year.
Free agent and former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances has agreed to a contract with the Mets. The team made the signing official on Tuesday. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets designated infielder Sam Haggerty for assignment.
Betances’ contract is a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, per a source. If he plays in 70 games, he can boost his salary to $13 million. Betances posted 70 or more appearances three times, from 2014-16, over the course of his eight years in the big leagues.
The deal is the type of splash Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen needed to complete ahead of the 2020 season in order to fix obvious needs in the bullpen. When healthy, the right-hander has a proven and powerful arsenal that can help lead the relief corps, a unit that is suddenly a real threat. The Mets had the fourth-worst ERA (4.95) in the National League in 2019. If Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia can bounce back from their career-worst seasons, the back-end of the bullpen can help shape the team into serious contenders.
“Dellin is one of the elite relievers in the game with an incredible track record of pitching on the biggest stage and in playoff games,” Van Wagenen said in a statement. “This is a tremendously exciting gift for Mets fans this holiday season in our championship pursuit.”
Betances, 31, is coming off Achilles and shoulder injuries and made just one appearance in 2019. Whether or not he will be ready in time for Spring Training is still in question, but he carries the potential for a huge bounce-back season.
“I love New York,” Betances said in a statement. “I grew up in Manhattan. Went to high school in Brooklyn. Played minor league ball in Staten Island. Made it to the big leagues in the Bronx. Now, I’m excited to go win a World Series with the Mets in Queens. Thanks to Fred and Jeff, Brodie, and all the other Mets staff who worked so hard to make possible this next step in my New York journey. Merry ChristMets! Let’s Go METS!”
He posted a 2.22 ERA with 607 strikeouts in 373 1/3 innings between 2014-2018 and made at least 66 appearances in all five of those seasons. Despite being limited to one regular season appearance this past year, he exhibited the most upside of any reliever remaining on the free-agent market. Betances has 621 career strikeouts – fanning 41% of the batters he’s faced.
Betances, who made $7.125 million in his final season with the Yankees, will reunite with former teammates Robinson Cano and Carlos Beltran. The Mets new skipper will now manage five former teammates in 2020, including J.D. Davis, Jake Marisnick, Justin Wilson, Michael Wacha and Betances.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pounder would benefit from a comeback season that could help him return to his pre-injury form. Betances suffered a partial Achilles tear in his first appearance of the 2019 season in September when he jumped off the mound in celebration. He was able to avoid surgery, and reports detailed the expectation of a full recovery by February. But shoulder and Achilles injuries, in particular, are pesky injuries to completely overcome.
Betances, a dynamic setup man, joins closer Edwin Diaz and relievers Jeurys Familia, Seth Lugo, Justin Wilson, Brad Brach and Robert Gsellman in the Mets bullpen. Offseason addition Michael Wacha or current starter Steven Matz are expected to compete for a rotation spot during camp. The odd man out will likely join the relief corps with the rotation capped at six starters, as it currently stands.
Fans can thank Yoenis Cespedes for the gift of Betances this holiday season. The Mets restructured Cespedes contract, slashing his pay from $29.5 million to a base salary of $6 million, and Van Wagenen presumably used that saved money to spend big on Betances.
Cespedes agreed to the contract overhaul after suffering a mysterious accident on his ranch in Port St. Lucie back in spring this year. The Mets had reason to believe what Cespedes initially told the organization – he stepped into a hole and twisted his foot – was not entirely accurate. So the club recouped most of the money remaining on the final year of Cespedes’ contract before he enters free agency following the 2020 season. The oft-injured slugger will elevate his salary million if he starts the season on the active roster, plus many other incentives.
