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Posted on Wed, Nov. 11, 2009 10:06 PM
Royals notebook | Team reportedly close to minor-league deal with utility player Wilson Betemit
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The Royals are closing in on a minor-league contract with veteran utilityman Wilson Betemit, according to FoxSports.com. Club officials did not confirm the report.
Betemit, 28, is a switch-hitter with a .258 average and .324 on-base percentage in 516 career games over parts of seven big-league seasons with four different clubs. He split last season between the Chicago White Sox and its Class AAA affiliate in Charlotte.
The move, if true, would mark Betemit as the latest former Atlanta player to surface with the Royals. He spent 9½ seasons with the Braves before going to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a July 2006 trade.
A July 2007 trade sent Betemit to the New York Yankees, who dealt him to the White Sox after last season in a package that returned outfielder Nick Swisher.
Betemit batted .200 while playing just 20 games last season for the White Sox. He batted .241 in 72 games at Charlotte. He filed for free agency after the season.
Callaspo misses out
Second baseman Alberto Callaspo fell five days short of qualifying for arbitration under the labor agreement’s super-2 provision. That figures to cost him several hundred thousands of dollars.
Third baseman Alex Gordon, as expected, was one of 10 players who qualified for arbitration under the provision. The list was announced Wednesday.
Players gain the right to arbitration if they have three full seasons but less than six full seasons of major-league service. The super-2 provision extends eligibility to the top 17 percent of players who have at least two full years of service.
This year’s cutoff was two years and 139 days — and required a tiebreaker procedure between three players for the final spot. Gordon had two years and 162 days, but Callaspo finished at two years and 135 days.
Callaspo was in line for hefty raise, had he qualified, after batting .300 with 11 homers and 73 RBIs in 155 games. Instead, his 2010 salary projects as less than $500,000, up from $415,500 in 2009.
Gordon’s raise from $457,000 is harder to project because he missed roughly three months of last season while recovering from hip surgery. He batted just .232 with six homers and 22 RBIs in 49 games.
To reach Bob Dutton, call 816-234-4352 or send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com. Follow his news updates at Royals_Report@twitter.com.
Posted on Wed, Nov. 11, 2009 10:06 PM
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