Dellin Betances is working to return to what made him a prolific All-Star and one of the best relievers in baseball during his time with the Yankees, but instead, the big righty might be moving backwards.
After a rough debut season with the Mets last year, Betances began his spring training by allowing four runs in his first inning of work, and surrendered another two last week against the Astros. More concerning, Betances’ once lively fastball has not only been absent this spring, but his velocity has even slowed as spring has gone on. In his March 16 outing against Houston, Betances averaged 90.6 mph, noticeably down from the 92.2 mph he averaged two weeks prior.
Given Betances’ recent injury history, last year’s struggles and his concerning numbers so far this spring, could his place on the Mets’ Opening Day roster actually be in danger?
Manager Luis Rojas wants every aspect of spring to be competitive, but made sure to pump the brakes on any speculation that Betances could be in danger of losing his bullpen spot.
“We’ll see how he goes today, but this is a guy that I think at this point you have to say he’s part of our bullpen,” Rojas said on a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday. “But at the same time we have to keep it open knowing there’s competition. We want to leave here with the best team to compete. We want to win.”
Recent reports by SNY’s Andy Martino suggested that Betances could be considered a sunk cost if he doesn’t show signs of improvement by Opening Day, and the Mets could wind up eating the remainder of his two-year, $14 million deal, and while Rojas seemed to back up Betances as a member of the bullpen plans moving forward, he still plans on keeping the competition going over the next week.
“We have a lot of guys in camp who are profiled to be one inning to two inning guys, like what Dellin is, so we’re staying open-minded about everything,” Rojas said. “Spring training camp is all about competing. I think everyone is competing for a spot on the 26-man roster. I think everyone here is building up and getting evaluated and things like that.”
The results likely don’t matter as much to the Mets as the velocity, which is what made Betances an All-Star and one of the best strikeout pitchers in baseball during his tenure with the Yankees. In 2018, Betances was averaging nearly 98 mph on his fastball, an average that was nearly a full 10 mph down last week. That is a concerning drop, one that has at least raised questions about Betances’ future with the Mets, but for now, the team isn’t ready to say that his spot on the team is in danger.
“With Dellin, we’ve always heard that the velo increases as camp goes,” Rojas said. “So we haven’t really paid attention to that. We trust his recent history, before he had the injury…He’s been consistent. He’s throwing the ball with better command.”
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