You Can Never Have Too Many Arms

That's an old baseball addage. You hear it every time -- even one with an impressive bullpen -- adds another reliever. But there's logic to accumulating talent. The Yankees might be the best example.

In a spring training that a former boss of mine might call "mixed emotions," the Yankees hitters from Aaron Judge to Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres have looked ready for opening day since the get-go. But then, there's that mounting wave of injuries: Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino and now setup reliever Dellin Betances will start the season on the Injured List.

After several Grapefruit League appearances with clearly reduced speed on his fastball, the Yanks shut down the 6'8 Brooklyn native with "shoulder inflammation." Could there be more to this problem that difficulty rounding into shape after a winter of rest? OK, he arrived late in camp after his wife gave birth to the couple's first child. But that should put his timetable behind, but not put him on the shelf. Maybe it's the by product of half-a-decade of intense work -- keep in mind, Betances is the first reliever ever to strike out 100 or more batters in five straight seasons.

Bad timing? Sure... and in more ways than one. 2019 is Betances' walk season -- he's a free agent next winter. Shoulder issues are not what you want when you're about to test your value in the marketplace. And it might give the Yankees pause about Betances' long-term prospects. How sturdy will he be moving forward? Will he have the durability of a David Robertson? (No one would dare comparing Betances to Mariano Rivera, who was obviously optioned the majors from a higher league.)

All of a sudden, those off-season signings of Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino don't look like gluttony, but savvy work by Brian Cashman. And Betances might be facing the biggest crisis of his so-far impressive big league career.