Who is Adam Ottavino? All you need to know about the Yankees' new reliever as Devin Williams hit paternity list

The New York Yankees are bringing back a familiar face as Adam Ottavino has agreed to a MLB contract with the club. The 39-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox this offseason but chose to exercise his opt-out clause in the deal, allowing him to return to free agency.

Now in his 15th MLB season, this will be Adam Ottavino's second stint with the New York Yankees, spending two years with the club in 2019 and 2020. A former first round pick in the MLB Draft, Ottavino has been a solid reliever throughout his career and will be looking to provide the club with some balance out of the the bullpen.

The decision to bring Ottavino into the fold comes at an important time for New York as the team also announced that their closer Devin Williams will be placed on paternity leave as his awaits the birth of his child. While it's unclear of how quickly he might be utilitized by manager Aaron Boone, however Ottavino has already been added to the MLB roster.

The New York native has made a his way across Major League Baseball, spending time five different clubs, including the St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, and most recently, the New York Mets before inking a deal to return to the Yankees.

Last season with the New York Mets, Adam Ottavino threw 56.0 innings, producing a 2-2 record with a 4.34 ERA and 70 strikeouts, while also earning a save in the process. His first opportunity to get into game action could be Tuesday night when New York welcomes the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Bronx.

The New York Yankees' pitching staff has already been dealing with a number of notable injuries

Although it has mostly been the Yankees' pitching rotation that has been dealing with the injury bug, bringing in a proven veteran like Adam Ottavino could help provide them with some mid-to-late inning relief. The Bronx Bombers will likely turn to Luke Weaver to fill in as the team's closer while Devin Williams is away from the club.

Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, JT Brubaker, Ian Hamiliton, Jake Cousins, Tyler Matzek, and Clayton Beeter are already currently sitting on the team's IL. This growing list of injuries makes the addition of Ottavino even more important for the time being.