Per the terms of the deal, the New York Yankees needed to pick up Zack Britton’s 2022 option in order to prevent him from opting out of the two remaining seasons in the contract, 2021 and 2022. The left-hander groundball specialist is not precisely cheap (he will earn $13 million next season and $14 million the year after) but the team just couldn’t afford to lose him. And that’s why they essentially decided to “opt in” the remaining two years on his pact.
While the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to build two super-bullpens, the Yankees’ unit is not what it once was.