Adam Ottavino’s dream has become a reality.
The day after his signing became official, the right-handed reliever said it was “a dream come true” to play for the Yankees, the team Ottavino rooted for while growing up in Brooklyn.
The three-year, $27 million contract is a hefty number for someone who might at times be called on to pitch the sixth inning.
During a conference call Friday, Ottavino said he already had spoken to Aaron Boone about his potential role and how the second-year manager might deploy his fearsome bullpen.
“We have some guys who have a little more strength versus left-handed hitters, even though they’re right-handed pitchers, like Chad Green and Dellin Betances,’’ said Ottavino, who allowed a .467 OPS to right-handed hitters and a .560 OPS against lefties last season. “I’ve been pretty tough on righties in my career, so I expect to get a lot of righty-on-righty matchups given our bullpen depth.”
In addition to holdovers Green, Betances, Jonathan Holder and closer Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees also brought back free agent Zach Britton.
The key for Ottavino will be to try to repeat the success he enjoyed last year with Colorado after he overhauled his pitching approach last offseason, studying his mechanics and effectiveness at a vacant storefront in Harlem.
The results were immediate, as Ottavino struck out 12.9 batters per nine innings — third best in the National League last season — and finished with a 2.43 ERA.
The 33-year-old also allowed just three of 18 inherited runners to score (17 percent), a career-best.
It was a drastic improvement from an ugly 2017, when Ottavino walked 39 batters in just 53 ¹/₃ innings and had a WHIP of 1.661.
“It allowed me to start from the ground up and fix a lot of my bad habits and put good ones in their place,’’ Ottavino said of the program. “It was somewhere I could be alone and get my mind right. I felt like I was in a good spot [in 2018] from day one and was able to hold that momentum.’’
Since the extra work proved to be so effective, Ottavino continued working in Harlem this offseason.
Ottavino has made other minor changes and has also been working on a new pitch, but is unsure if it will be “game-ready” this season.
He’s also hopeful not pitching his home games at Coors Field will be beneficial.
“There are some adjustments you have to make with altitude and understanding how a pitch will break there compared to at sea level and calibrating,’’ Ottavino said of his slider. “It should move more at home this season. I’m especially excited about the movement on my other pitchers, the two-seam fastball and cutter. It should be a little easier to be consistent.”
One aspect of the move that may prove more challenging is playing closer to home.
“That’s something I’m gonna talk to my family about,’’ said Ottavino, who played at Berkeley Carroll High School. “We understand the implications of playing here for me. Everybody will try to keep the circle tight.’’
And he undoubtedly will have more of a spotlight on him thanks to his decision to wear “0” on his jersey, which Ottavino said he has done since even before he was in high school.
Ottavino will be the first Yankee to wear that number.
“It’s something I’m comfortable with,’’ Ottavino said. “I understand every type of fan recognition I get is gonna be contingent on me pitching well. I’m gonna try to focus on that and be myself and not try to make too big a deal about the number.”