Zach Britton was a major part of the New York Yankees bullpen a year ago and he’s getting closer to returning for the foreseeable future.
The New York Yankees and Zach Britton are nearing a new contract according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
#Yankees progressing toward deal with free-agent reliever Zach Britton, sources tell The Athletic. Could be finalized soon.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 6, 2019
Britton was acquired at the trade deadline last season to help create one of the best bullpens in all of baseball. But, it took a while for Britton to get acclimated since he was recovering from an injury that cost him most of the first half in 2018.
He ended up having a 2.88 ERA in 25 games for the Yankees after that July 25 trade along with a solid postseason posting a 2.25 ERA in four innings.
While a deal is not officially done yet, some of the details are starting to trickle out thanks to Rosenthal and some of the other big name insiders.
Britton deal with #Yankees is three years for about $40M, source tells The Athletic. NYY can exercise fourth-year option after second year. If they do not, Britton can opt out. Option would take deal beyond $50M. Opt-out details first reported by @JonHeyman and @JeffPassan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 6, 2019
Reports say the deal will be guaranteed for three years and close to $40 million. New York has a club option for a fourth year and if they chose not to exercise it, Britton can opt out of the deal.
After losing David Robertson, signing an elite reliever was an absolute must for general manager Brian Cashman. The way the game has changed over the last few seasons, the bullpen has become more important than ever. Now opponents will have to continue to worry about getting through Britton, Dellin Betances, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman when trailing in a game.
When he is on, Britton is one of the best relievers the game has to offer. It is hard to forget his 2016 campaign where he converted 47 saves and only allowed four earned runs all year. If the Yankees can just some of that production the next few seasons, they would be happy campers.
The Yankees will now likely shift their attention on to signing another elite reliever, having been linked to Adam Ottavino all offseason while still awaiting a decision from Manny Machado.
