New York Yankees president Randy Levine feels Dellin Betances was the victim of ‘‘over the top demands based on very little sense of reality’’ by his representatives at Friday’s arbitration hearing won by the team.
The Yankees beat Betances in the year’s final salary arbitration case, and the relief pitcher will be paid $3 million rather than his $5 million request.
‘‘What his agents did was make him a victim of an attempt to change a marketplace in baseball that has been well established for 30, 40 years, and I feel bad for him that he was used that way by his agents,’’ Levine said Saturday after the decision was announced. ‘‘Five million dollars goes to elite closers, people who pitch the ninth inning and have a lot, a lot, and a lot of saves.’’
‘‘Dellin didn’t have that record,’’ Levine added. ‘‘He’s a great, elite setup man, maybe one day he’ll be a great closer, we hope so.’’
Betances was prepared to move forward until Levine’s comments.
‘‘Saying I’m a victim in this whole process and saying how much they love me, but then they take me into a room and trash me for about an hour and a half,’’ Betances said. ‘‘I thought that was unfair.’’
A righthander who turns 29 in March, Betances figures to be primarily a setup man again following Aroldis Chapman’s decision to return to the Yankees. New York gave Chapman an $86 million, five-year contract — a record for a relief pitcher.
‘‘They value me as a setup man, an eighth-inning guy, so is it selfish of me to say now, ‘Hey guys, I just want to come in for the eighth inning with no runners on all the time?’ ’’ Betances said. ‘‘That’s not the player I am.’’
Betances struck out 126, leading big league relievers for the third straight year, and went 3-6 with a 3.08 ERA and 12 saves in 17 chances.
Harper is in the know
Bryce Harper says he knows ‘‘exactly why’’ he went from National League MVP honors in 2015 to a decidedly less-successful 2016. He’s just not willing to share that reason. ‘‘That’s all last year. That’s what you go through and you build and you grow and you try to maintain. And that’s what I’m going to try to do again this year,’’ Harper said. He hit only .243 with 24 homers and 86 RBIs for the NL East champion Nationals last season, significant drop-offs from the .330, 42, and 99 of a year earlier, when Harper became the youngest unanimous MVP in major league history. Asked if he feels he can pinpoint why his production dipped, Harper began by responding, ‘‘Yeah, I mean, I know exactly why.’’ But then he danced around follow-up questions seeking specifics . . . Owner Arte Moreno is committed to long-term improvements to both the Los Angeles Angels’ roster and their venerable stadium. The Angels will remain in Angel Stadium until at least 2029, Moreno said. Moreno also believes the Angels will soon be in better financial shape to pursue baseball’s top players this year and beyond, boosting their chances of building a winner around two-time American League MVP Mike Trout.
Kershaw set for No. 7
Clayton Kershaw will make his seventh straight Opening Day start for the Dodgers, tying Don Sutton’s franchise record. Kershaw will start April 3 at home against the Padres . . . Veteran free agent infielder Chase Utley has officially returned to the Dodgers, agreeing to a one-year, $2 million contract . . . The Reds expect outfielder Ryan Raburn, 35, to pass a physical and sign a minor league deal Sunday, giving them another player to compete for a role off the bench. Raburn has played for the Tigers, Indians, and Rockies . . . Righthander Jered Weaver agreed to a $3 million, one-year deal with the Padres after 11 seasons with the Angels, pending a physical. The 34-year-old Weaver had spent his entire career with the Angels, going 150-93 with a 3.55 ERA and three All-Star selections . . . Toronto slugger Josh Donaldson missed the team’s first full-squad workout because of a calf injury. The third baseman tweaked his right calf while running sprints a day earlier.
