Dellin Betances grew up in Manhattan, became famous in the Bronx, and will now spend the next phase of his career in Queens.
The former Yankees All-Star reliever has signed a one-year contact with the Mets, the National League team announced Tuesday afternoon.
The hard-throwing 31-year-old reliever reportedly will sign a one-year deal worth $10.5 million with incentives that can take the contract to $13 million. Betances's deal will include a player option for 2021.
While the Yankees boasted arguably the deepest bullpen in the major leagues in 2019, the Mets' pen has proved to be the team's most gaping flaw the past two years. The bullpen blew 27 saves this season despite bringing back star reliever Jeurys Familia and trading away some of their top prospects for new closer Edwin Diaz. Both posted park-adjusted ERA+ below 75, and Diaz surrendered 15 homeruns in only 58 innings pitched.
With a deep starting rotation and a promising lineup, the Mets are hoping Betances can punctuate a bounceback 2020 for the bullpen after the team missed the postseason by just three games.
For his part, however, Betances is a question mark. Injuries pushed his 2019 season debut to late September. He pitched just two-thirds of an inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 15, suffering a partial tear of his left Achilles tendon and missing the rest of his season. It's not clear when Betances will make his 2020 debut.
But Betances has been one of the best relievers in baseball. He has a career ERA of 2.36 and an average of 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings over his first eight big league seasons with the Yankees. Betances made four straight All-Star teams, from 2014 to 2017.
The signing ensures Betances will stay in his home city; he grew up in Washington Heights and went to Grand Street Campus High School in Brooklyn.