Mariners Finally Give Up on Betancourt

The Seattle Mariners, trying to shore up their defense and acquire young talent at the same time, dealt enigmatic shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to the Kansas City Royals for two minor leaguers. Betancourt, once considered a staple at short for Seattle, played his way out of the favor of management with his impatient hitting, defensive lapses and lackadaisical play.

He was placed on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring and was expected to return to the big club this weekend, but he was unexpectedly removed from the starting lineup Thursday for Triple-A Tacoma, leading to trade speculation. Betancourt batted .250 with two homers, 22 RBI and a putrid .278 on-base percentage, the primary reason why he was shipped out of Seattle.

In return, the Mariners get right-hander Danny Cortes and left-hander Derrick Saito. Cortes, 22, was 6-6 with a 3.92 ERA in 16 appearances for Double-A Northwest Arkansas while Saito, 21, is 2-6 with one save in 24 relief appearances for Single-A Burlington.

"The opportunity presented itself for us to acquire a pair of talented arms and as we move forward we felt this was the right thing to do at this time," general manager Jack Zduriencik said. "We want to thank Yuni for all he has done for the Mariners and wish him the best of luck in Kansas City."

The Mariners have settled on Ronny Cedeno at shortstop, who is more sound defensively than Betancourt, who committed nine errors in 62 games. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu benched Betancourt for a few games in June, but it became apparent that he was on the trade block. Zduriencik should be credited for turning an uneven shortstop into two pitching prospects, both of whom have promise.