{"id":636889,"date":"2026-03-22T08:19:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/636889\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T08:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T08:19:50","slug":"dellin-betances-adam-ottavino-preview-2026-yankees-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/636889\/","title":{"rendered":"Dellin Betances, Adam Ottavino preview 2026 Yankees season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dellin Betances and Adam Ottavino, studio analysts for YES Network Yankees coverage, take a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby. The Yankees studio team \u2014 which also features Michael Kay, Bob Lorenz, Jack Curry and Meredith Marakovits \u2014 makes its regular-season debut with Opening Day pregame and postgame shows Wednesday, with the game broadcast on Netflix<\/a>. YES\u2019 first game is Friday.<\/p>\n

Q: Is this the year the Yankees get over the hump?<\/p>\n

Betances: I totally believe that with the rotation being a strength, I think this is the year. Obviously you got Gerrit Cole coming back pretty soon, [Carlos] Rod\u00f3n coming back as well. The strength of the rotation is gonna allow the bullpen to be strong at the end of the season. They\u2019re gonna have so many weapons with guys having to move from the starting rotation to the bullpen. That\u2019ll be a strength for them going into the postseason. There\u2019s a sour taste in these guys\u2019 mouth after they were eliminated last year. I think that lights a fire in a lot of these guys, and I feel like they\u2019ll finally break through.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I have no way of predicting that, only time will tell. But I do think that this is a very good roster, I think they\u2019ve done a good job. I\u2019m very confident this team will be playing October baseball, and they\u2019ll give it their best shot at that point.<\/p>\n

Dellin Betances poses for a photo on the red carpet during the MLB Awards presented by MGM Rewards at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Thursday, November 13, 2025 MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Q: What are your thoughts on the rotation?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I really like where the rotation\u2019s at. \u2026 I really like the [Ryan] Weathers move, that was my favorite move of the offseason. I think Luis Gil is poised for a bounce back \u2026 [Cam] Schlittler could be taking the next step. Will Warren learned a lot of lessons last year. Obviously they have Max Fried as well. So it\u2019s very deep and definitely an AL East-caliber starting rotation.<\/p>\n

Q: Carlos Lagrange?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think he\u2019s a special talent, I think they should continue to develop him as a starter because he does have a full arsenal, he\u2019s not a one-trick pony like most guys you see that throw 102, 103 miles an hour. I know that circumstances might dictate that he\u2019ll debut in the bullpen as the season progresses, but I think that would be selling him short, I truly think he has a chance to be a No. 1 starting pitcher. He\u2019s that talented.<\/p>\n

Q: What advice would you give him if he was told to go to the bullpen?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: The only real advice for him is just to get ahead in the count. Attack everybody, don\u2019t give hitters too much credit, understand what type of stuff you have, and just figure out his routine on a day-to-day basis. Any adjustment to the bullpen can be a little difficult for guys at times, but he should just follow the lead of the veteran guys and try to get comfortable with that as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Q: Does he remind you of the young Dellin?<\/p>\n

Betances: His stuff looks a little better. His stuff is overpowering. I just like his makeup, his confidence. He\u2019s shown ability in spring to throw strikes consistently. He has a chance to be great in this game.<\/p>\n

Yankees pitcher Carlos Lagrange Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n

Q: Do you see him as a starter or in the bullpen?<\/p>\n

Betances: He\u2019s shown the ability to add multiple pitches he can throw for strikes. He has the potential to be a starter. The guy throws 103, he has nasty offspeed, he can get guys out in the big leagues right now, I think, doing both, right? If he gets guys out and cuts his walk rate down, I think he\u2019ll get called up pretty soon.<\/p>\n

Q: What advice would you give him if he starts out in the bullpen?<\/p>\n

Betances: It\u2019s a different routine. How can I be at my \u2018A\u2019 game right when I come in? The mindset changes. You have to have that aggressive mentality once you come in \u2019cause one or two runs and the game is lost, right?<\/p>\n

Q: What do you like about Weathers?<\/p>\n

Betances: If he goes to the bullpen, you\u2019re gonna have a lot of guys just overpowering guys.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: He\u2019s had trouble staying healthy in the past, but that seems to be something that he\u2019s put behind him over the last year-and-a-half. He has tremendous stuff, you don\u2019t see lefties with his type of velocity. I also really, really like his changeup. I feel like he\u2019s the type of guy that\u2019s getting ready to take the leap.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo beyond the box score with the Bombers\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Q: Schlittler?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think the biggest thing is he showed me that he can improve at a fast rate. He evolved really fast as the season progressed. Obviously he has tremendous raw stuff, but I thought the adjustments he made in terms of using the entire zone with his fastball, figuring out what lanes he wants to get his offspeed in, those were all really good adjustments that he made in a short amount of time.<\/p>\n

Betances: Man, he was electric. I think he took the city by storm with that postseason he had. He has the ability to pound the strike zone, he\u2019s getting you out relatively quickly. I read an article where Cole helped his cutter out leading to the playoffs which his velocity in that pitch increased by like 4, 5 miles per hour. That\u2019ll be fun to see all season. But his makeup, his poise, he\u2019s not afraid of the moment.<\/p>\n

Q: Cole\u2019s comeback?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think he\u2019s the racehorse at the starting gate, rarin\u2019 to go. I think he\u2019s gonna be outstanding when he comes back. I think the key thing right now is to make sure that he completes the rehab fully and doesn\u2019t take any shortcuts here. I don\u2019t think he will. But as long as he does that, I expect him to be the same old Gerrit Cole when he comes back to the rotation.<\/p>\n

Q: Max Fried?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: He is the definition of an ace. He can pitch without his best stuff and still give you a chance to win. He controls the running game, he fields his position, he helps his teammates, he\u2019s very smart, he\u2019s durable, he\u2019s won a World Series, he pitched a deciding game of a World Series for Atlanta. He\u2019s tough as nails, so he really checks the boxes.<\/p>\n

Betances: He came in with an open mind of trying to get better, which he started relying more on that cutter, which was a great pitch for him. He knows how to pitch, he commands the zone, he\u2019s a true ace. With Cole being back soon, I would just love to see that kind of tandem where going into the playoffs, it favors the Yankees very heavily.<\/p>\n

Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried (54) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Q: Rod\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: He\u2019s got a tough mentality out there on the mound. At times, he\u2019s had to figure out how to control that and rein that in. But really impressed with his ability to bounce back from that adversity in his first year with the Yankees. Another guy who\u2019s done a good job evolving and adapting, adding a sinker, incorporating more changeup into the mix and really becoming a little bit more of a complete pitcher. So I\u2019m a huge Carlos fan.<\/p>\n

Q: The bullpen?<\/p>\n

Betances: Right now we don\u2019t know what it\u2019s gonna be. I think it\u2019s gonna be a strength later in the season \u2019cause some of these starters now gotta go to the bullpen. I think obviously [David] Bednar did great for them last year, I think [Camilo] Doval starting the season out fresh, he has overpowering stuff, so that back of the bullpen is gonna be strong.<\/p>\n

Q: What do you like about Bednar?<\/p>\n

Betances: He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s willing to pitch multiple innings. He puts the team first. He\u2019s a guy that you can bring in with runners on, he\u2019s gonna get out of it. He can throw his offspeed for strikes when he\u2019s behind on counts, he has a great fastball.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think it\u2019s an evolving situation. I like the depth that they have there. Doval seemed to make strides after being acquired by the Yankees last year. He\u2019s gonna be kind of, in my opinion, the most important piece of how this bullpen will function. Bednar, I think, is in a great place. [Fernando] Cruz, I think, is in a great place. But Doval\u2019s really the key, they need him to step up and be the bridge to Bednar and he certainly has the ability \u2026 big-time arm \u2026 the ball has some abnormal movement to it. It\u2019s no denying it\u2019s very, very nasty. His one issue in the past has been walks. He tends to spray the ball when he\u2019s not locked in and he\u2019s not mechanically sound.<\/p>\n

Q: The lineup?<\/p>\n

Betances: Very versatile. You got a lot of matchup decisions you can make. They have some guys that can run the bases. Obviously they got a lot of power in the middle of the lineup. Be excited to see [Giancarlo] Stanton back starting a season and hopefully we can get 140 [games] out of him. That can be scary. With him back healthy, we\u2019re definitely gonna experience the Bronx Bombers again with him and [Aaron] Judge at the middle of the lineup there. The lineup is strong and being able to match up with rights and lefts, I think that\u2019s a strength for them.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: They scored the most runs last year, it\u2019s the same group coming back. I guess the big question is, can Trent Grisham do it again? And can Ben Rice take the leap? I think if he sticks with his process, he could be the answer for a batter behind or in front of Judge, and that can help this lineup even go to another level.<\/p>\n

Giancarlo Stanton watches his two-run home run off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Eric Lauer during the third inning of a spring training baseball game Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. AP<\/p>\n

Q: What would that leap for Rice look like?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: He\u2019s one of the best hitters in the league already if you look at swing decisions and how hard he hits the ball. So I think it\u2019s just a matter of time till some of that process manifests itself into some really great results. He\u2019s a great hitter. I think that the world doesn\u2019t realize quite how great he is, this could be the year that we all see that.<\/p>\n

Betances: His plate discipline is elite. When you look at everything in his report card, when it comes to hitting, he\u2019s at the top percentile for everything.<\/p>\n

Q: How scary would the lineup be if Stanton could play 140 games?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: Anytime Stanton\u2019s in the lineup, it\u2019s scary. I don\u2019t think anybody\u2019s expecting 140 games out of him. But if he\u2019s in there, automatically there\u2019s an intimidation factor and a bit of a know-how factor there.<\/p>\n

Q: Do we automatically pencil Judge in for 50 home runs?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: Yes. No question. I think that\u2019s to be expected at this point.<\/p>\n

Betances: Every year he just hits better. You can definitely mark that 50 for him. That\u2019s what he does. But the ability to improve his average over the last couple of seasons, that\u2019s what impressed me the most. That\u2019s why he\u2019s the best hitter in the game. I feel like he doesn\u2019t get enough credit for his defense. I think he\u2019s deserving of a Gold Glove. It was good to see him throw some guys out in the WBC.<\/p>\n

Q: What do you think of Anthony Volpe and Jose Caballero at shortstop?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: Volpe\u2019s obviously been under some fire, and I think he\u2019s done a good job of kind of laying low this offseason, just putting his head down and working and getting healthy. Still believe in him, he\u2019s got a really good upside, I think the biggest thing for him is getting back to being an elite defender at short. I think Caballero brings a different dynamic to the Yankee lineup with the base stealing, kind of an annoying contact approach to frustrate pitchers. At the end of the day, I think it\u2019s good that they have multiple options that can kinda compete for that spot.<\/p>\n

Q:. Cody Bellinger?<\/p>\n

Betances: His plate discipline\u2019s very good. Very versatile. He doesn\u2019t really strike out as much, which you want that with that lineup. He\u2019s played in L.A. before, so pressure doesn\u2019t really get to him.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think he\u2019s the most versatile player they have. He\u2019s tremendous in all three phases \u2014 he\u2019s a really good hitter, really good defender in multiple positions, also a really good baserunner. One thing I\u2019ve always admired about Cody is that he\u2019s gone through times and bounced back, so he knows how to handle adversity.<\/p>\n

Q: Team defense?<\/p>\n

Betances: The outfield defense is excellent. Belli, Judge and Grisham, they can get the ball. Ryan McMahon, the guy is insane. If kids just can watch him at third base, they can learn a lot from him. Caballero, obviously a guy that can move around as well. Ben Rice works extremely hard at it so that\u2019s an area that he can improve on. His offense will overshadow some of the defense, for sure.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think it\u2019s in a much better spot than where it was 12 months ago. Ryan McMahon at third is an elite defender. Whoever\u2019s playing short, they\u2019re gonna make sure they have an elite defender there.<\/p>\n

Q: Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base?<\/p>\n

Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Ottavino: Jazz is a great defender as well, very gifted, can play all over the field. At second base, that\u2019s the position that comes natural to him. He makes spectacular plays, sometimes he\u2019ll have little lapses on some regular plays. I think you have to live with it with Jazz because he\u2019s a very explosive player, and he\u2019s gonna make up for his mistakes with some explosive plays.<\/p>\n

Betances: Second base is his position. I love how he plays the game. Super energetic, the fans love him.<\/p>\n

Q: Austin Wells behind the plate?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: Wells had a great year framing. That was the biggest thing that he brought to the table last year, stealing strikes for his pitchers, working with his pitchers, helping them record outs and keep runs off the board. He could do a better job of throwing and blocking, but those things will come. As long as he keeps up that framing, he\u2019s gonna have a big impact.<\/p>\n

Betances: He\u2019s a guy that the pitchers love throwing to.<\/p>\n

Q: The bench?<\/p>\n

Betances: Randal Grichuk, a guy that can hit lefties really well. He\u2019s punished the Yankees in years past so it\u2019s good to have him on the Pinstripes. J.C. Escarra, a guy that can platoon in there with Wells. [Paul] Goldschmidt, a guy that crushed lefties last year.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: It\u2019s solid. Goldy crushes lefties, and I think he\u2019s comfortable in his role. They have a multitude of depth options at catcher. Escarra has proven that he belongs on the club, in my opinion. Rice can also play catcher. [Amed] Rosario is another guy that matches up well versus lefties and kinda play all over the field. That\u2019s kind of what you want in a bench.<\/p>\n

Q: Jasson Dom\u00ednguez?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: He\u2019s such an interesting player \u2019cause he\u2019s not old yet. I certainly would not give up on him. The biggest issue he had last year was hitting versus lefties. He\u2019s a switch-hitter, swung the bat pretty well from the one side of the plate but struggled on the other. And also there\u2019s just not as much playing time available at the moment. I think him and Spencer Jones would benefit from playing every day, but that\u2019s just not the reality right now.<\/p>\n

Q: Team speed?<\/p>\n

Betances: I think we got a great balance. We got some guys that can run, and then you have the middle of the lineup that can put the balls in the seats. You don\u2019t have to run much when you hit \u2019em over the wall, right?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: It\u2019s never been a strength of the Yankees but last year that came back into play. They\u2019ve begun to do a much better job of being threats on the basepaths. And it just adds another dimension. Instead of waiting around for home runs, they can create runs in another way, and I think that\u2019s another problem for an opponent to solve.<\/p>\n

Q: Are these Yankees better off without Juan Soto?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: It\u2019s a hard question (chuckle). Of course, you\u2019d rather have Juan Soto on the team, he\u2019s one of the top five players in baseball, so you\u2019re never gonna be better off without a top-five player. But it gives them the ability to add in some different areas and maybe have a little bit more of a well-rounded team. They made it to the World Series with Soto two years ago and last year they fell short of that. Just based off results, you\u2019d say they\u2019d probably rather have Juan Soto, but results don\u2019t always tell the whole story. I think it\u2019s pretty close to a similar situation either way. I think they\u2019re just about as strong with him as they are without him given that they were able to do some other things.<\/p>\n

Adam Ottavino (left) on the field at Yankee Stadium. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Q: Biggest concern?<\/p>\n

Betances: The bullpen is where, like, what do we have right now? Their biggest concern is, does their rotation stay healthy? Rotation is key going into the playoffs, you want your horses to be healthy. \u2026 I think health is the key for them. And obviously in the playoffs, you would like for the team to be able to put the ball in play more and find ways to score runs, not just by the home run.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think it\u2019s probably the bullpen because it\u2019s a little unpredictable. I think as much-maligned as he was last year, I think Devin Williams pitched a lot of big-time innings for this club and he hasn\u2019t really been replaced. Same with [Luke] Weaver. Weaver was a leverage guy who pitched more than one inning at a clip often. I know they have the arms, but just \u2019cause they have the arms doesn\u2019t guarantee anything in terms of success out there in big spots. So if one of their Big 3 were to falter in Doval, Bednar, and Cruz, they don\u2019t really have somebody that\u2019s super solid to step in there right now. That would be a problem that they\u2019d have to address.<\/p>\n

Q: The AL East?<\/p>\n

Betances: The whole AL East is great. I feel like teams are gonna beat up each other.<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think it\u2019s the best division in baseball. There\u2019s four legitimate teams that are gonna be gunning for that division in Baltimore, Toronto, Boston and New York. Tampa\u2019s also a competitive team. I think the Blue Jays, the Red Sox and the Yankees will separate themselves from Baltimore. Health is a big factor, of course. But it\u2019s gonna be really tight. The margin\u2019s probably gonna be a game or two at the end of the day.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Q: You like the Yankees to win the AL East?<\/p>\n

Betances: I do. I think the first six weeks is the key for them. You don\u2019t have your full rotation. I think when those guys come back, you want to be able to stay within a couple of games. If we stay within a couple of games, we\u2019re definitely gonna win the East.<\/p>\n

Q: What should the Yankees mindset be after knocking on the door so many times?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I think you still gotta think small and pay attention to what\u2019s right in front of you. Try to win every series, don\u2019t look at the big picture too often, punch your ticket to the postseason, go after that division, and then from there regroup and try to have a great three weeks.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you think this team is better than last year\u2019s team?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: I do. I think the biggest reason is Cole coming back. And also the potential of Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez \u2014 I think he\u2019s pretty much big-league ready \u2014 as two guys that can impact the pitching staff from the minor leagues. The presence of those three guys is something that they didn\u2019t have last year that they\u2019ll have this year.<\/p>\n

Q: Message to Yankees fans?<\/p>\n

Ottavino: Enjoy the ride. This is gonna be a great season. Let\u2019s not put the cart in front of the horse. Let\u2019s watch this team develop, figure out what their identity\u2019s gonna be for 2026, and see if they can\u2019t chase down that division.<\/p>\n

Betances: We got the team to get over that hump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dellin Betances and Adam Ottavino, studio analysts for YES Network Yankees coverage, take a swing at some Q&A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2376],"tags":[8651,5,25662,4,1690,62,2548,2547,8471,185,430,142],"class_list":["post-636889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-yankees","tag-adam-ottavino","tag-baseball","tag-dellin-betances","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkyankees","tag-serbys-qa","tag-sports","tag-sports-columnists","tag-yankees"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116271855972286176","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}