Yankees: Chad Bettis Retires After Spending Spring Training With NYY

Chad Bettis retires after spending Spring Training with the New York Yankees.

Chad Bettis, formerly of the Colorado Rockies, came to the New York Yankees to fulfill a depth role in 2020. It was clear that he’d given himself one last chance to compete, after struggling to stay healthy in ’19 in Denver.

However, this spring didn’t look anything like he suspected, with the extended pause on MLB action curtailing his comeback before it even started.

We suspected Bettis wouldn’t return after 2020, but we now know he’s decided to move that date up a tick. Citing the ongoing stress on his body, the former Rockies righty has agreed to walk away from the game before the resumption of this season.

The right-hander signed with the Yankees on February 16, 2020, and was expected to compete for spot starts while James Paxton rehabilitated himself following surgery. He didn’t appear in a spring game, though, and that calculus clearly changed when the extended coronavirus shutdown quickly sent Paxton back into active duty, too.

Bettis, a second-round pick in 2010, was best known perhaps for his off-the-field battle. The venerable righty was diagnosed with testicular cancer in Nov. 2016, and had surgery to remove the mass. However, he was forced to undergo chemotherapy when the disease returned in the Spring of 2017.

At Bettis’ best, he was beyond serviceable in the disastrously aerodynamic atmosphere that is Coors Field, posting an 8-6 record with a 4.23 ERA at the age of 26, and a 14-8 record the next season in ’16 with a 4.79 mark.

He then was forced to engage in an entirely different battle, however, and was felled by various issues like blisters and season-ending hip surgery following the most grueling physical challenge of his life.

The 31-year-old walks away from the game with his head held high now, and we wish him well in whatever form his next steps take. Bettis thanked the Yankees in his farewell message for being “first class,” and we can say the same.