ST. PETERSBURG -- With the acquisition of Orioles closer Zach Britton, the Yankees' relievers joked after a 4-0 win over the Rays on Tuesday that they may have to take a page out of Tampa Bay's playbook and institute a "bullpen day" just to get everyone innings.
"To add a guy of his caliber would be huge," reliever Dellin Betances said before the deal was officially announced. "We could start our own game as a bullpen."
Right-handers Dillon Tate, who is the Yankees' No. 9-ranked prospect, and Cody Carroll, who's ranked No. 15, and Triple-A left-hander Josh Rogers were sent to Baltimore in exchange for Britton.
"You hear stuff and you chatter with the guys and everybody is pretty much excited, obviously," Betances said. "If it's true, we are all excited to have him in our 'pen."
"Any time you can add to a strength, cover up a weakness or whatever, when you can add good players to your team, obviously that's a good thing," said manager Aaron Boone.
Britton had spent his entire professional career with the Orioles after being a third-round pick in the 2006 Draft. Over eight big league seasons, the 30-year-old lefty is 30-22 with a 3.22 ERA. Since taking over the Orioles' closer role full-time in 2014, Britton has been one of the most dominant closers in the game, posting a 1.72 ERA with 139 saves and 257 strikeouts in 262 innings.
"I believe he is one of the better, if not best relievers in the game," closer Albertin Chapman said through a translator. "Having the opportunity to add someone like that with so much talent would be very helpful to us."
The two-time All-Star will bolster an already strong bullpen which came into Tuesday's game with a Major League-best 2.75 ERA. The deal also has the added advantage of keeping one of the best bullpen upgrades available away from potential postseason foes, the Red Sox and Astros.
"I think the biggest thing is that Boone can give us more days when we need some and he doesn't have to keep running us back out there," Betances said. "Adding a guy like that is just pieces that you can kind of play with and you don't have to go out there and pitch three days in a row."