Yankees: Ranking their top five moves of the offseason thus far

The first move on the list was just made official on Thursday when the Yankees announced they signed Adam Ottavino to a three-year, $27 million deal. The 33-year-old right-hander was born and raised in Brooklyn and now he’ll get the chance to play for the team he grew up rooting for as a kid.

Ottavino is coming off a career-year with the Rockies a season ago where he went 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and an impressive 112 K’s (13.0 K’s per 9). He was dominant in 2018 and really announced himself as one of the top relievers in the game today. Ottavino will fit nicely into this Yankee bullpen because of his ability to strike hitters out at a very high rate and his effectiveness against right-handed hitters.

Last season Ottavino held righties to an ERA of 1.79 ERA, a .142 BA, and a .236 SLG %. He was no slouch against left-handers either but throughout his career, he’s been much tougher facing righties. That’s mostly because of his frisbee-like slider which is one of the most unhittable pitches in the game today. He also has a nasty two-seam fastball that he uses extremely well to induce a ton of soft contact.

With the aforementioned David Robertson now gone Ottavino essentially replaces him in this year’s pen. He’ll be used similarly by manager Aaron Boone pitching anywhere from the sixth to ninth inning when called upon. Dellin Betances and Zach Britton will be used as the primary set-up men in front of Aroldis Chapman so Ottavino can be used earlier in games as one of the first relievers out of the pen to clean up a starter’s mess and get out of a big jam.

Whatever role he ends up filling Ottavino will help this Yankee team shorten games and hold down leads better than any pen in the game. He’s a big-time addition and if last year was any indication it looks like he’s just entering the prime years of his career.