With Dellin Betances and the New York Yankees heading for an arbitration hearing, they might just be pushing their reliever out the door sooner rather than later.

The New York Yankees are entering uncharted territory with one of their prized bullpen pieces. In his first year of arbitration-eligibility, Dellin Betances found himself at odds with the Yankees… Odds equating to $2 million dollars.



Betances’ request for a $5 million salary ended up causing some problems with the Yankees, who filed for $3 million. Thus, it is time for the organization to participate in their first arbitration hearing since Chien-Ming Wang’s salary negotiation in 2008.

Betances will be the last of their arbitration-eligible players to settle with the Yankees and it won’t be easy. Regardless of what happens in the courtroom between him and the Yankees, the dominant reliever will still probably find his way out of the Bronx sooner rather than later.



The $2 million difference is not fair to the reliever. With three All-Star appearances in his first three full seasons in the Bronx, the value Betances provides to the Yankees is irreplaceable.

Other teams would be more than willing to provide the righty with that kind of money to be a full-time closer for their ball clubs. With the Yankees signing Aroldis Chapman to a massive contract, it’s only fitting that Betances would feel slighted for all he’s done for the Yankees.

The righty struck out 126 batters last season, once again leading all relievers and registered 12 saves in 17 chances while Chapman was either suspended or traded. In his 254.4 career innings, he has struck out 404 batters.

He continuously goes out on the mound and proves why he was taken by the Yankees in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. The 6’8” flamethrower got control of his command and was shifted to a bullpen role in 2013, which turned out to be the best move for the Yankees.

Betances knows what he’s worth. If the Yankees don’t understand that, then there should be no reason for Betances to stay when he hits the market in 2020. While $5 million seems steep for a setup man, his pitches are worth that and even more.

With Chapman back and manning the back end of the bullpen, Betances has a diminished role in the game. That’s probably why the Yankees are proposing a lower salary than what their All-Star reliever expects.

However, Betances is such a dominant pitcher that whether he’s a setup man or a closer, he deserves far more money than he’s being offered.

He’s right to ask for more. Betances held down an otherwise shaky bullpen for the entire season. Even though he was running on fumes at the end of the season, he still gave 110 percent when he entered the game.



Part of one of the hardest-throwing duos in baseball, Betances gives the Yankees a better chance to win. That should be enough reason to give him what he’s asking for.

Betances has been such a huge part of the Yankees but if he decides to walk away if he doesn’t receive enough money, I don’t blame him. An arbitration hearing here could cause a riff between a player and team, which might turn Betances off if he starts getting other offers.

Maybe it will take him walking out the door, when he’s worn out his arbitration eligibility, for the Yankees to realize just how much he’s worth.


Allison is just a girl with an enormous passion for the game of baseball and the written word. Based in Upstate New York, her life-long relationship with the New York Yankees is something that she developed through close relationships with her mother and grandfather. An aspiring sports writer, she graduated with a journalism degree and is finding places to share her excitement about the sporting world and how it affects us all.