Report: Yankees, Ottavino agree to 3-year, $27M deal

The New York Yankees are cornering the market on shutdown relief pitchers.

The team has agreed to a contract with free-agent reliever Adam Ottavino, sources tell ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The deal is worth $27 million over three years, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports.

The 33-year-old was virtually unhittable for the Colorado Rockies in 2018 thanks to his elite slider. He now joins an already impressive bullpen in the Bronx less than two weeks after southpaw Zach Britton signed a deal to return to the Yankees for the next three seasons.

Ottavino essentially replaces David Robertson at the back end the pitching staff after the latter joined the Philadelphia Phillies.

Things should immediately get dicey for opposing lineups once they chase Yankees starters from games in 2019; here's how the team's top relievers fared in 2018 (WAR courtesy FanGraphs.com):

Britton's numbers are possibly depressed due to his recovery from an Achilles injury.

Tommy Kahnle can't be forgotten, either. He appeared in only 23 1/3 innings last season, struggling en route to a 6.56 ERA. If he can return to the 2017 form that saw him post a 2.59 ERA with 13.79 K/9, it could be nearly impossible sledding for rival offenses.