By Jordan Long
The New York Yankees have been busy during the offseason. They already agreed to contracts with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 2nd baseman D.J. LeMahieu. New York added another free agent, this time to bolster the bullpen. They signed right handed relief pitcher Adam Ottavino to a 3-year, $27 million deal.
Ottavino spent the previous 7 years with the Colorado Rockies. Last season was the best in his career. The Rockies trusted him to come into ball games in the later innings to shut the opponents down. More times than not, Ottavino was successful with 112 strikeouts. He rarely left the ball up in the zone for home runs giving up only an impressive 5.
The downside for him was walks. When batters were patient at the plate, they worked the count which gave them a free pass to 1st base. Ottavino walked 36 batters, far too many. He finished 2018 with a record of 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA. His pitching helped the Rockies go 91-72, making the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year.
In the playoffs Ottavino wasn’t the dominant pitcher he was in the regular season. He didn’t keep pitches down in the zone and batters smacked them for base hits. Ottavino ended the postseason with a record of 0-1 and an ERA of 4.91. That didn’t help the Rockies as they were swept in the National League Division Series by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Colorado knew Ottavino wasn’t going to be back. They allowed him to test free agency and he finally found a landing spot in New York. New York’s bullpen is stacked. They have Chad Green, Zach Britton, and Ottavino who can all strike batters to keep the Yankees ahead. All of them could be the 8th inning pitcher to give way to Aroldis Chapman to save games.
On paper, the New York Yankees might be the favorite, to not only win the American League East Division, but make a run at the World Series. They are going to be tough to beat especially in close games. The only way they won’t make it far in the postseason is if their bullpen implodes in tight games. dlocked0 Lis
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