As Major League Baseball is quickly approaching the trade deadline, the New York Yankees made a move to improve their bullpen by acquiring Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles. A two-time All-Star, Britton has had a slow start to 2018 as he was recovering from a ruptured Achilles. He has surrendered six earned runs this season, but four of those runs came from a single outing. In return, Baltimore will receive three prospects from the Yankees, headlined by RHP Dillon Tate.
Regardless of his slow start and return from injury, there’s no denying Britton improves the Yankees’ bullpen.
Yankees to acquire 2-time All-Star closer Zach Britton from Orioles, per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/f1ciSditcX
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 25, 2018
Yankees Acquire Reliever Zach Britton to Boost Bullpen
Career Overview
Britton made his MLB debut with Baltimore in 2011 as a starter. Needless to say, he was less than impressive in that role. From 2011-2013, Britton made 46 starts and compiled a 4.77 ERA, 1.516 WHIP, and a 1.51 strikeout-to-walk ratio. It did not look like Britton would last in MLB, but a move to the bullpen changed all of that.
In 2014, Britton made 71 appearances out of the bullpen with a pristine 1.65 ERA, 37 saves, and a 2.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Still, the best was yet to come for Britton as he would be elected to the AL All-Star team in 2015-2016. His 2016 numbers alone are on the more impressive seasons by a reliever in recent memory. Britton made 69 appearances with 47 saves and an unthinkable 0.54 ERA. From 2014-2016, Britton was the definition of a shutdown reliever. In 204 games, he posted a 1.38 ERA with 120 saves and 215 strikeouts.
Recent History
Unfortunately, Britton has not been able to achieve the same sort of results. Since the start of 2017, he has a 3.07 ERA and 19 saves with a 3.70 FIP. While Britton is far from dominating lineups like he used to, he still looks to be a quality pitcher. He has worked 14 scoreless outings since returning, and there’s no denying he makes the Yankees better.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
