A native of New York City, Ottavino was born in Manhattan, NY and moved to Brooklyn when he was three years old. There, he attended the same school as ex-teammate Dellin Betances, who was a couple of grades younger.

Adam is known for a wicked slider, He trains in the offseason in his self-built "LAB" in Harlem, NY. As a relief pitcher, Ottavino posted a .991 WHIP in 2018 with Colorado, and a 1.92 ERA in 2019 with the Yankees.

Before the 2020 season, Major League Baseball adopted a rule specifying that a relief pitcher had to face a minimum of three batters after entering the game. While this rule affected mainly left-handed specialists, it also had implications for someone like Ottavino who was often used in previous season to face one or two right-handed batters before giving way to a lefty.

In any case, his effectiveness diminished significantly during the shortened season. He still made 24 appearances - a high number given there were only 60 games played in the regular season - but his ERA shot up to 5.89 and he allowed plenty of traffic - 20 hits and 9 walks - in 18 1/3 innings. Having lost manager Aaron Boone's confidence, he made only one appearance during the postseason, coming in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, during which he walked a batter who later came in to score, in just two thirds of an inning.

Following the season, on January 25, 2021, he was involved in a rare trade between the Yankees and their arch-rivals the Boston Red Sox, heading to Fenway Park alongside prospect Frank German in return for future considerations, the trade being a way for the Yanks to shed some salary.

(excerpted from BR Bullpen, Baseball Almanac & Wikipedia)