TAMPA -- The Yankees threw a flurry of arguments at reliever Dellin Betances in their victorious $2 million salary arbitration fight.
Chief among them was that Betances, a three-time All-Star, shouldn't get paid closer money because he's not one.
Betances, eligible for salary arbitration for the first time, filed at $5 million. The Yankees filed at $3 million. The sides met Friday in front of a trio of arbitrators, who delivered their decision Saturday.
Here's a rundown of the biggest points the Yankees made, a source with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media on Saturday. The source requested anonymity in order to speak freely.
How Levine ripped Betances
*He's not a closer: The sides were in agreement that Betances shouldn't be treated like a closer, the source said, because he lacked the number of saves of other first-year arbitration-eligible closers. Betances has 22 career saves, 12 of them coming last season. Still, Betances' representatives argued that the 28-year-old was unique in that he's a multi-inning reliever at a time when outs earned earlier in games are being given more value than ever.
*Betances had "lost" the closer job before: The Yankees argued that Andrew Miller took the role from Betances in spring training 2015, the source said. That, however, wasn't necessarily true as the team's public position was that the job was an open competition between the two sides. Miller kept the job through the season and relinquished it when the Yankees acquired Aroldis Chapman before the 2016 campaign.
*He helped bring down ticket sales: Betances didn't perform as the Yankees would have hoped when he was given the closer job last season. After the July 31 Miller trade, he posted a 4.37 ERA with 12 saves in 17 opportunities as the closer. The Yankees argued that his poor performance led to losing which led to a decline in ticket sales. The Yankees finished second in the American League in overall attendance, the first time they didn't lead the AL in that category since 2001.
*He's a bad defender: Betances made three errors last season, all throwing, and out of the 21 runners who stole on him, they all were successful.
Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.
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