The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with RHP Adam Ottavino on a three-year contract worth $27 million, according to multiple sources.
It sounds like there is growing momentum towards a Sonny Gray trade, so I imagine that will have something to do with the corresponding 40-man roster spot to make room for Ottavino.
Ottavino makes an already highly-regarded Yankees bullpen into the consensus best bullpen in baseball, even after losing David Robertson to the Philadelphia Phillies. Brian Cashman had said his plan this offseason was to bring in two relievers, and in the last few weeks the Yanks re-signed Zach Britton and have now brought Ottavino into the fold.
The Yankees bullpen now consists of the following:
- Aroldis Chapman
- Dellin Betances
- Zach Britton
- Adam Ottavino
- Chad Green
- Jonathan Holder
Tommy Kahnle is out of minor-league options, so I would imagine- barring a deal- he would be the seventh guy and then the Yankees, who used an eight-man crew in 2018, would just have to figure out the long reliver. That guy would probably be Sonny Gray if today were opening day, but Luis Cessa, Chance Adams, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Domingo German remain as options beyond Gray for that role, among others. Stephen Tarpley will also figure to be an up-and-down arm for them.
Ottavino, 33-years-old and a New York native, is on a very team-friendly deal. It seems he took a lower average annual value ($9M) in order to secure the third year. Sounds good to me! Friend-of-the-program Katie Sharp has tweeted some exciting stats about Ottavino since the deal was announced. The one that caught my eye was that Ottavino had the fourth-lowest batting average with runners in scoring position last year. Presumably, he takes over D-Rob’s fireman role. Check out her Twitter page for more fun stuff that I’m sure she’ll continue to be posting.
There’s really nothing to dislike about this move, especially when you consider that Boston’s hands are now kind of tied in negotiations with closer Craig Kimbrel. They’re likely going to have to overpay him or Cody Allen if they’re going to make any additions to their bullpen that has already lost Joe Kelly and wasn’t good in 2018 anyway, despite winning the World Series.