Los Angeles Dodgers: A trio of American League East players to target

2. Dellin Betances

We are staying in the reliever market thus far, this time going with a free-agent relief pitcher (boring, I know).

Dellin Betances was part of the New York Yankees’ injury bug in 2019 that saw several key players miss most of, if not all, of the 2019 season. In Betances’s case, he might as well have missed the entire season as he pitched just two-thirds of an inning in the entire season.

Betances did not pitch until September because of bone spurs in his shoulder and once he did return he suffered a torn Achilles after pitching two outs, ending his season and his chances of making the postseason roster.

Now, Betances is a free agent and with the Yankees already having a stout bullpen without him and needing starting pitching, he very well could be heading elsewhere. The Dodgers, who need relief help, should be interested.

Yes, it is easy to get concerned about Betances’ injuries in 2019 but that could actually go in the Dodgers’ favor. A perfectly healthy Betances could have gotten a massive contract to be someone’s closer, because of the injury, teams may be hesitant to pay Betances a lot of money.

The Dodgers can capitalize on that and sign Betances to a one-year deal with a higher salary than any other team is offering. This gives Betances a chance to play for a new contract and the Dodgers a chance to add an elite arm with no long-term repercussions.

Whether he eventually takes over the closer job or serves as the Dodgers’ version of Andrew Miller, coming in the game whenever there is a high leverage situation, Betances could be a huge arm for the Dodgers’ bullpen.