Dodgers, four-time All-Star Dellin Betances agree to minors deal worth up to $2.75M

A native of Washington Heights in Manhattan, N.Y., Betances was selected by the New York Yankees in the eighth round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft. Betances made his big-league debut in September 2011 and spent the 2012 season in Triple-A.

The 34-year-old struggled in limited MLB action in 2013, but broke through in 2014, going 5-0 and posting what are still career-best numbers in ERA (1.40), WHIP (0.77), strikeouts (135) and innings pitched (90) while making his first All-Star team. His 135 punchouts led all MLB relievers, and he finished third in the AL Cy Young voting.

Betances continued to dominate out of the Yankees bullpen over the next few seasons, earning All-Star nods in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and gaining the reputation as one of the premier, hard-throwing strikeout relief pitchers in baseball. After another solid season in 2018, Betances missed nearly the entire 2019 campaign due to a shoulder injury, and after finally returning in September of that year, suffered a torn Achilles, ending his season with less than one inning pitched.

The 6-foot-8 hurler signed with the New York Mets in December 2019, but struggled mightily with a 7.71 ERA in 15 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Betances suffered another shoulder injury and pitched in just one game in 2021.