New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera Believes Dellin Betances Can Be a Closer
By Nick Ziegler
Some have questioned whether or not Dellin Betances can be the closer for the New York Yankees. However, he has the support of Mariano Rivera.
The New York Yankees will have some questions on their roster that need to be answered this offseason. After trading both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman this season, the Yankees turned to Dellin Betances as their new closer.
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Betances has been an All-Star setup man for the Yankees the past three seasons, but that success didn’t translate right away to the closer’s role. As the closer this season, Betances was successful on 12 of his 14 save opportunities after the trades. However, his ERA was a 4.37 in the final two months of the season. Despite struggling a bit, former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera believes in Betances.
“I believe that he’s capable — and he has done it — so I’m looking for next year to see how that develops,” Yankees great Mariano Rivera told Brian Hoch of MLB.com at the World Series in Chicago. “He has the right mentality. He’s a big boy out there. I don’t think that he will be shy about doing that job. I’m looking forward to spring training and the beginning of the season to see how he will respond to a full year as a closer.”
One of the things that became a glaring issue for Betances was his fielding. Betances had three errors on the season, which tied him for the major-league lead for relievers. In addition to the poor fielding, base-runners were also a perfect 21-for-21 when attempting to steal a base. These are both certainly things that can be worked on in the offseason for Betances, but they are both issues that need to be improved upon.
"“You can work with all that stuff,” Rivera said to Brian Hoch. “I think the Yankees know that, and he knows that. They will be working with him in spring training, and he is willing to do that. We spoke about it. He will be there. He will be ready for that.”"
There is without a doubt that Betances is one of the best relievers in baseball. However, some pitchers don’t have what it takes to be a closer. The Yankees have been spoiled the past 20 years with having closers like Rivera, Robertson, Miller, and Chapman. While Betances might be the next great closer for the Yankees, he could also need time to achieve that.
“I think Betances has done a tremendous job,” Rivera said to Hoch. “It’s something that you need to see a little bit different. He has nothing coming behind him now. For me, I think that he is capable … and he will do the job. I don’t see why not.”
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With Chapman being a free agent at the end of the season, it will be interesting to see if the Yankees actively pursue him. In recent years, the Yankees have been reluctant to spend money, and Chapman will surely be looking for a sizeable contract. Finally, it could end up being Betances getting a shot to be the closer for the entire 2017 season.