Like Mariano, Betances Just Forced A Great Closer Out Of New York

It has been discussed before. David Robertson is a free agent this off-season, and is welcome to go to the highest bidder. He would like to go back to the Yankees, but is also interested in making the most money possible. There is no ill will if he leaves for a huge contract somewhere else. He’s been a great set-up pitcher for years, and a closer this season. Luckily for the Yankees, Dellin Betances is ready for the challenge.

1996 was a special year for the New York Yankees. Not only was it the first year of the Yankees dynasty, but it was the year that Mariano Rivera showed the front office he had the skills necessary to take the closer role from John Wetteland. Wetteland closed for the team in both 1995 and 1996, amassing 74 saves in that time. Rivera, on the other hand, was only in his second season with the major league squad. His 1995 season was a relative disaster, with a 5.51 ERA through 10 starts and 9 relief appearances. He never started another game in his career. In 1996 setting up for Wetteland, Rivera had a 2.09 ERA in 61 appearances and actually had the highest K/9 ratio of his career at 10.9. With just one strong season, the Yankees made the move.

I am not making the notion that Betances is ready to have a Rivera-like career. However, Betances just had one of the great relief seasons of all-time. After a short, but unsuccessful 2013 season, Betances had a 1.40 ERA in 90.0 innings, a WHIP of .778, and a K/9 ratio of 13.5.

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Robertson did save 39 games for the squad this season, but faltered down the stretch. He had a 3.08 ERA on the season with 5 blown saves. He will do a great job as a closer next year wherever he goes, just as Wetteland did in Texas after leaving the Yankees. The difference between Robertson and Betances is that Robertson will cost roughly $10-$14 million next year in a multi-year deal, while Betances will cost about $500K for each of the next two seasons. On a team where overspending is so rampant, here is a position that the Yankees can get one of the best relievers in the league closing for them at pennies on the dollar.

The Yankees can either let Robertson go or give him a qualifying offer. If Robertson takes it, he would make a little over $14 million on a one-year deal. If he doesn’t take it, the Yankees would be awarded a compensation draft pick in the 2015 draft. While the qualifying offer makes sense for the draft pick, there is the very real possibility that he will take the offer. The Yankees don’t need to have a $14 million dollar closer. Saving that money is worth not getting a draft pick in return.

The decision to move from Robertson to Betances is not solely on stats, just like the decision to move from Wetteland to Rivera after the 1996 season. Both Rivera and Betances broke out in their age-26 season, and showed that they more than have the ability to take over the 9^th inning spot. While no one is expecting Betances to have a career like The Sandman, the future looks bright with the NYC native on the mound closing out games in the Bronx.