Dellin Betances missed his first day of work with the New York Yankees in 2019. However, he possessed the best excuse.
Aaron Judge should have the final strains of the Family Guy theme song queued up on his infamous boombox to blast when proud new papa Dellin Betances finally shows up to New York Yankees Spring Training.
Bombers pitchers and catchers participated in their first workout of Spring Training on Thursday, but Betances was absent.
The flame-throwing reliever is still at home, presumably helping his wife Janisa with their newborn son, Dellin Jr.
Baby Betances entered the world on Feb. 13. His father celebrated the birth in an Instagram post overflowing with pride:
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Northjersey.com’s Pete Caldera that Betances should report to camp “sometime in the next few days.”
More importantly, Boone told Caldera that “everything’s going well” with the Betances clan.
The Bombers’ first spring-training game isn’t until Feb. 23, so Betances will still have plenty of time to get acclimated.
The 30-year-old is coming off a 2018 campaign in which he posted a 2.70 ERA with 115 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. However, he missed the All-Star Game for the first time since 2013, when he was just a September call-up.
Betances is considered one of the best setup men in the MLB. Still, he’ll have competition to be the No. 1 option to set up Aroldis Chapman.
Brian Cashman’s main free-agent signings this offseason were relievers Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino. In a bullpen packed with closer-level talent, Betances’ frequent bouts of wildness will be magnified to the extreme.
If he isn’t careful, the big righty could find himself slipping closer to the middle innings.
But for now, Betances can relax and take the time to fully enjoy his first moments of fatherhood. And then he can use Spring Training as an excuse to avoid changing diapers.
