The New York Yankees lost David Robertson in MLB free agency, but they were able to keep one of their other free-agent relief pitchers by agreeing to a contract with left-hander Zach Britton.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the details of the contract, which includes three seasons with an option for a fourth.
Britton was acquired by the Yankees in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles last season. He tallied a 2.88 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, 21 strikeouts and 11 walks over 25 regular season innings as a Yankee in 2018.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Saturday the Yankees still have interest in right-handed relief pitcher Adam Ottavino, who the Red Sox also reportedly have targeted.
Ottavino, who pitched near Fenway Park while playing college baseball at Northeastern, is among the best free agent relief pitchers still available. The top guy on the market, closer Craig Kimbrel, does not appear to have a large market of suitors despite being an elite player at his position for many seasons.
Our own Red Sox insider Evan Drellich touched on Kimbrel's situation in a recent column:
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A return to Boston appears more probable for Kimbrel now that David Robertson has gone to Philadelphia, a return that could be seen brewing as far back as the winter meetings. Good for the Sox and their pocketbook, if they did sniff out Kimbrel's market appropriately.
The Red Sox have yet to make an impactful bullpen move this winter. They lost reliever Joe Kelly in free agency in December, and losing Kimbrel on top of that would create two sizable holes in the bullpen without many top-tier replacements left on the free-agent market.
Ottavino would be an excellent addition for the Red Sox, but the top priority should be bringing back Kimbrel at a reasonable price.
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