Arguably the best reliver in baseball, is headed to Queens. Ex-Yankee, Delin Betances has agreed to a 1 year $7.5 million deal with the New York Mets. Delin was arguably the best reliver in baseball as for 2018, as his 2.70 ERA was one of the best in the big leagues, with his strikeout/walk ratio at 115-26 which is absolutely insane for a relief pitcher. Add to that his immaculate inning, the times he came very close to it, and several of the RISP jams he wiggled himself out of, and Betances was with the elites in the reliver market.
But multiple injuries this season, including an Achilles injury in September, significantly dropped his stock, which is why he only got 1 year $7.5 million. While Delin is unlikely to be as effective as he was two years ago on the Yankees, due to his injury, the switching of leagues from AL to NL, (with the change of offensive styles because of no DH in the NL) and the new reliver rule which states you must face at least 3 batters before being pulled.
That last one may have yourself asking, why is that a problem? The answer is because as good as a pitcher as Delin was, he wasn’t great at getting 3 straight batters out compared to getting out of jams, but you shouldn’t be worrying about this too much as a Mets fan.
Betances will likely be back in August, right when the playoff race starts to heat up and the Mets are likely to be right in the thick of it in the NL Wild Card. The Mets are getting a passionate guy in Delin, who will also be a very good pitcher, joining the Mets bullpen, who have many players looking for bounce-back years in
Betances, Edwin Diaz and Jeruys Familia, as well as guys looking to build off big seasons in Seth Lugo And Justin Wilson.
The Mets went 86-76 last season, with their weakness being the pitching depth, which has now been addressed with the free agent acquisitions of starters Micheal Wacha, Rick Porcello, and now Delin Betances.
PREDICTION: As of now, I say the Mets will go 93-69, but fall short of a division title to the Braves. The Mets will be in the thick of the Wild card race, but whether they oust the Phillies, Nationals, Cardinals, Reds and Diamondbacks for one of the two slots remains to be seen.
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