Friday, February 6, 2015

Betances hasn't thought much about his 2015 bullpen role


The upcoming competition for the Yankees' closing job between Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances has certainly been a popular topic of conversation amongst the club's fanbase this offseason, and chances are the winnner of it will be under a great amount of pressure.

Not that that's anything Betances is letting get inside of his head, though.

"I haven't put too much mind into it," Betances told MLB.com this week. "There's people that have mentioned it."

Betances, coming off a 135-strikeout 2014 campaign, has the opportunity to be promoted from his previous position as the Yankees' set-up man during next month's spring training, but will likely have to perform strongly if he is to take advantage of it. Miller, the other candidate for the role, has more major-league experience under his belt, not to mention just signed for a hefty $36 million.

But Betances doesn't seem stressed about the situation, and says his goal at the end of the day is just to contribute.

"For me, I'm just going to try to do the same thing, whether it's the seventh, eighth, or ninth," Betances said.

Betances and Miller have been thought of as one of baseball's best 1-2 punches this winter, but that observation still might not make up for the duo's lack of familiarity when it comes to saving games. Indeed, in recent days it's been speculated by some that the Yankees should look into acquiring someone like Rafael Soriano or Francisco Rodriguez to solidify the back of their bullpen, an act that would probably cost them much money.

Perhaps that's why the Yankees are refraining from doing so with pitchers and catchers now set to report to camp in just 14 days, and Betances planning to attempt a repeat of his rookie performance. 


"I'm just going to try to take the same approach I did last year and not to make too big a deal about who gets that job," Betances, 26, said. 

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)