NEW YORK _ Santa and his bag of gifts came a day early for the Mets this year.
Free agent and former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances has agreed to a contract with the Mets. The team made the signing official on Tuesday. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets designated infielder Sam Haggerty for assignment.
Betances' deal is a one-year deal worth $10.5 million, per ESPN. If he plays in 70 games, he can boost his salary to $13 million. Betances posted 70 or more appearances three times, from 2014-16, over the course of his eight years in the big leagues.
The deal is the type of splash Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen needed to complete ahead of the 2020 season in order to fix obvious needs in the bullpen. When healthy, the right-hander has a proven arsenal that can help lead the relief corps, a unit that is suddenly a real threat.
"Dellin is one of the elite relievers in the game with an incredible track record of pitching on the biggest stage and in playoff games," Van Wagenen said. "This is a tremendously exciting gift for Mets fans this holiday season in our championship pursuit."
Betances, 31, is coming off Achilles and shoulder injuries and made just one appearance in 2019. Whether or not he will be ready in time for spring training is still in question, but he carries the potential for a huge bounce-back season.
"I love New York," Betances said. "I grew up in Manhattan. Went to high school in Brooklyn. Played minor league ball in Staten Island. Made it to the big leagues in the Bronx. Now, I'm excited to go win a World Series with the Mets in Queens. Thanks to Fred and Jeff, Brodie, and all the other Mets staff who worked so hard to make possible this next step in my New York journey. Merry ChristMets! Let's Go METS!"
He posted a 2.22 ERA with 607 strikeouts in 373 1/3 innings between 2014-2018 and made at least 66 appearances in all five of those seasons. Despite being limited to one regular-season appearance this past year, he exhibited the most upside of any reliever remaining on the free-agent market.
Betances, who made $7.125 million in his final season with the Yankees, will reunite with former teammates Robinson Cano and Carlos Beltran.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pounder would benefit from a comeback season that could help him return to his pre-injury form. Betances suffered a partial Achilles tear in his first appearance of the 2019 season in September. He was able to avoid surgery, and reports detailed the expectation of a full recovery by February.
Betances joins closer Edwin Diaz and relievers Jeurys Familia, Seth Lugo, Justin Wilson, Brad Brach and Robert Gsellman in the Mets bullpen. Offseason addition Michael Wacha or current starter Steven Matz are expected to compete for a rotation spot during camp. The odd man out will likely join the relief corps.
