He is a hard-throwing, homegrown, 20-something New York pitcher with a serious elbow operation in his past, a pennant race in his present and no long-term contract to cover his future. Sometimes he must rest to protect his prized right arm.
He is not Matt Harvey but Dellin Betances, the Yankees’ extraordinary setup man, who was set to be off on Tuesday.
“I’ll try to run a little bit more today, but I won’t throw,” Betances said before batting practice, with the Yankees taking on the Baltimore Orioles. “I won’t play catch.”
Referring to the former Yankee David Robertson, Betances added, “I watched Robertson take some days off last year, and I’ve done it this year a few times, and it’s helped my arm, helped me recover better.