Speaking on Wednesday about whether Dellin Betances is guaranteed a spot in the Opening Day bullpen, Mets manager Luis Rojas suggested the answer at this point is yes, but did not give the 33-year-old reliever a ringing endorsement.
Saying that spring training is all about competition and mentioning that Betances’ velocity has traditionally increased later during camp, Rojas noted that the team hasn’t paid much attention to Betances’ velocity so far this spring.
Betances, whose fastball averaged around 98 mph with the Yankees from 2016 to 2018, had an injury-riddled 2019 and did not rebound velocity-wise in 2020, when his average fastball was 93.6 mph.
“This year he showed up probably at a better spot (than last year) velocity-wise,” Rojas told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s been consistent there, with velo. He’s thrown the ball better command-wise, but going back to the competition part, I think he’s definitely a part of that.”
So far this spring, Betances’ fastball velocity has sat mostly between 90 and 91 mph, sometimes ticking up to 92.
SNY’s Andy Martino reported on March 19 that Betances was “something less than a total lock” to make the team.
“We have a lot of guys still in camp that are profiled to be one inning to two inning guys — the same profile as Dellin,” Rojas added on Wednesday. “We’re considering everything. We’re staying open-minded about everything. We’ll see how he goes today, but this is a guy that I think at this point you gotta say that he’s part of our bullpen. At the same time, we just gotta keep it open knowing that there’s competition going on as well.
While the Mets make decisions on who will round out the bullpen, Jacob Barnes is making a push for one of the final spots. Other possibilities include Robert Gsellman and Stephen Tarpley.
As far as Betances, he is earning $6 million this season and set for free agency after the year.
At the moment, Betances does not look like a pitcher who can be relied on to get big outs late in games. And if his fastball velocity doesn’t tick up, he might not be a big league reliever at all.
So even if the Mets carry Betances to start the season with the hope that he’ll round into form, his long-term future appears to be very much in question.