Veteran reliever Dellin Betances is getting another shot.
The Los Angeles Dodgers inked the 34-year-old right-hander to a minor-league deal on Tuesday morning.
Betances appeared in just one game for the New York Mets in 2021, posting a 9.00 ERA.
The right-hander has struggled with injuries and inconsistencies over the past three seasons.
His most recent successful campaign was in 2018 with the New York Yankees, where he posted a 2.70 ERA over 66 appearances.
He now joins a stacked Dodgers ballclub that has its sights set in winning their second World Series title in three years.
Los Angeles recently acquired Craig Kimbrel in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
Free-agent reliever Dellin Betances in agreement with Dodgers on minor-league contract, source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 5, 2022
Betances Heads Out West
If Betances can get healthy, he has a chance to return to his old form.
He was once one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball, slotting next to Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman in a vaunted Yankees bullpen.
He has since fallen off a bit, but if he can get healthy and pitch the way he used to, then he has a shot at cracking the Dodgers’ big-league roster at some point this season.
A healthy Betances would be a huge boost for a stacked Dodgers bullpen that features Kimbrel, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol, Daniel Hudson, and Tommy Kahnle, one of Betances’ former Yankees teammates.
For his career, Betances owns a 21-23 record and a lifetime ERA of 2.53 while also posting a WAR of 11.2.
His career has been mostly successful, but injuries have derailed him recently.
We’ll see if he can regain his old form and make an impact on an already loaded Dodgers team.
Again, if he’s healthy, he has the potential to be dominant.
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