Betances spent the offseason trying to regain flexibility in his shoulder and return to the arm slot he used during his peak years, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
Injuries over the years dropped the right-hander's release point and had a huge impact on the movement of his fastball in particular, making it both harder to control and easier to hit when it was in the strike zone. Working with trainers at Rockland Peak Performance in New Jersey, Betances got healthier and regained range of motion in his shoulder before using high-speed cameras to break down his mechanics, going so far as to buy his own Rapsodo unit for use while traveling. His velocity has been encouraging to begin the spring, but the 32-year-old still has a long way to go to prove he's once again the pitcher who struck out triple-digit batters in five straight seasons as a late-inning weapon for the Yankees.