How Long Until the Yankees Trade Dellin Betances?

Yesterday was the first official day of Spring Training for the New York Yankees, as pitchers and catchers finally reported to camp. Well, all except for setup man Dellin Betances.

Contrary to popular belief that Betances was doing his best NFL impression and holding out from training camp, it was reported Tuesday evening by WFAN’s Sweeney Murti, that the Yankees had excused Betances from reporting until his arbitration case is heard on Friday in St. Petersburg, FL.

The skeptic in me says that it’s rather convenient how the organization waited until the completion of the first day of camp to release this information, especially considering that Betances’ agent Jim Murray provided no comment. Did the Yankees do so to cover themselves because they honestly had no idea Betances wouldn’t show?

Technically, since Betances is playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, he doesn’t have to arrive at camp until Feb. 22.

When asked by reporters if the arbitration issue would become a problem for Betances and his teammates, manager Joe Girardi said:

"“If I feel that it does affect him, I will talk to him,” Girardi said. “Obviously this is the part of the game that somewhat becomes public and sometimes can be frustrating for both sides.“You have to be able to move on. When you sign up for this game, it becomes not only a game that you love and you fight and do everything you can to win, but it’s also a business and you have to balance that.“Once he gets through his arbitration case, we’re going to have to put that business behind and move on and focus on the game. Sometimes it takes players a little bit of time. Sometimes there can be hard feelings but that’s something we’ll have to deal with.”"

If you don’t know by now, the Yankees offered the 28-year-old $3M for the upcoming season — Betances countered at $5M. A few weeks ago, general manager Brian Cashman flat-out said, “We’re not going to reach a resolution with Dellin.”

Betances, who made the league minimum $507,000 in 2016 is certainly due a raise after compiling 22 saves, a 1.93 ERA, and 392 strikeouts in 247 innings over the past three seasons — all of which have seen him named to the AL All-Star team.

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There’s no doubt Betances is one of, if not the most consistent setup men in all of baseball. Yes, he was shaky as a closer, but now that Aroldis Chapman is back in the fold, any lingering effects from the latter part of 2016 should be quelled.

I understand that the Yankees are reluctant to further enter the luxury tax penalty area, but for a player that is an integral part to the future success of the club, it’s curious as to why $2M is worth creating a world of contention. The arbitration process is famous for straining otherwise positive relationships. The Yankees and Chien-Ming Wang never really recovered in 2008 — the last time the organization took to an arbitrator.

Even if Betances’ people won’t come out and say he wants to be paid like a closer, it’s evident he want’s to make more than a run-of-the-mill setup man. As a comparison to other eighth inning guys, Addison Reed of the Mets and Brett Cecil of the Cardinals both $7.5M per year.

This is Betances’ first year of arbitration eligibility. What happens next year, or the year after? He can’t test the free agent market til 2020. And according to Cashman, the two sides have only had limited conversations about a long-term deal.

"“That’s always something that could happen down the line, but that’s not going to happen, in this case, right now,” Cashman said."

I’m curious if anyone suggested meeting in the middle at $4M? But nobody wants to budge, which likely means someone is going to come out of the arbitration hearing disheartened by the result.

If it’s the Yankees, in the middle of a rebuild, knowing that it’ll be an uphill battle to make the Postseason, do they entertain the idea of trading one of their most valuable pieces of real estate for an Andrew Miller-like haul? Prospects are all the rage!

Perhaps somewhere near the trade deadline, Cashman would float the possibility of trading Betances to a club that not only has a need for relief pitching but one that also has a player often linked to the Yankees after the completion of the 2018 season.

Would the Yankees center a trade around Betances and two or three top prospects for Bryce Harper? It’s easy to say the Yanks can just wait until the winter of ’18 to try to sign him — but “try” is the operative word. There’s a ton of factors that could hinder that from happening — like another team swooping in with more available money (the Dodgers). Of course, Harper could always re-sign with the Nationals. And then there’s the dreaded injury bug that has derailed many promising careers.

Next: 2017 Lovefest for the Yankees

All I’m saying is that the Yankees should be open to just about everything at this point. No. 1 would be to mend any broken fences with Betances and have him dominate the late innings as usual. But for that, someone is first going to have to lose arbitration.