Dellin Betances and the Yankees still have to figure out just what went wrong in the second half of last season, when the reliever was wildly inconsistent, but at least they don’t have to worry about another arbitration battle.
The two sides agreed to a $5.1 million deal Friday to avoid a hearing.
A year ago, the right-hander was awarded $3 million instead of the $5 million he submitted, and the dispute went public between Betances and team president Randy Levine.
Betances is coming off a season in which he walked a career-worst 6.6 batters per nine innings and former manager Joe Girardi used him only sporadically at the end of the season. He was shaky in the playoffs, as well.
He’ll have to deal with that issue again to cement his role as a late-inning option, since he was surpassed late in the year by David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.
The Yankees also settled with Didi Gregorius for $8.25 million and right-hander Sonny Gray for $6.5 million, as well as Adam Warren for $3.3 million, Austin Romine for $1.1 million and Chasen Shreve for $805,000.
The Pirates settled with right-hander Gerrit Cole for $6.75 million, but he remains on the trading block and that number could be a factor if trade talks between Pittsburgh and the Yankees heat up again regarding the 27-year-old starting pitcher.