In addition to being linked to top free agents Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg, the Los Angeles Dodgers are evaluating options in effort to improve their bullpen.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman identified that area of the roster as the club’s lone glaring need and while he reiterated confidence in Kenley Jansen as closer, the Dodgers are open to finding a late-inning relief pitcher.
Thus far L.A. is believed to have interest in Blake Treinen, and they were connected to Kevin Gausman before he signed with the San Francisco Giants. Now the Dodgers may see a low-risk opportunity in Dellin Betances, according to Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
Add Dellin Betances to the list of relievers the Dodgers have interest in signing. He's a bit like Treinen — could potentially buy low for big potential after an injury-plagued 2019 season. https://t.co/PNz6ViwECd
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) December 11, 2019
The 31-year-old was limited to just one relief appearance this past season. He missed most of the year because of a right shoulder injury, then suffered a partially torn Achilles in his first game back.
Betances previously was a key member of the Yankees’ bullpen from 2014 to 2018, when he appeared in at least 66 games during each of the five seasons. Included in that stretch was a sub-2.00 ERA in both 2014 and 2015, which were All-Star campaigns for the right-hander.
The Philadelphia Phillies are believed to be interested in Betances as well. There’s a connection with new manager Joe Giradi, who has already reunited with former Yankees infielder Didi Gregorius.
If the Dodgers were to sign Betances and he bounced back from an injury-plagued season, the hard-throwing righty would provide insurance as a candidate to pitch in high leverage situations if Jansen or Joe Kelly faltered.
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