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Fire up the rumors; Betancourt scratched from Tacoma lineup
Posted
at
8:06 pm
by By Kirby Arnold
On Yuniesky Betancourt's second day of a minor league rehab assignment with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers, he was scratched from the lineup just before tonight's game.
Credit goes to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune, who's at Cheney Stadium and watched Betancourt take what he described on his blog as a normal pregame workout before the lineup was changed.
Trade in the works? Betancort's hamstring acting up again? Is he so enamored with second base that he now refuses to play shortstop?
Nobody is quite sure. All the Mariners are saying is that it was an "organizational decision" to pull Betancourt. At Tacoma, Betancourt told Divish that he is healthy (he' s on the DL with a strained right hamstring) he didn't know why he was scratched from the lineup.
I spoke with GM Jack Zduriencik outside the Mariners' clubhouse after tonight's 3-1 victory over the Rangers, and he wouldn't touch the Betancourt situation. "I can't comment," he said.
Sometimes, no-comments say something.
Weeks ago, there were rumblings that the Pirates were interested in Betancourt in exchange for shortstop Jack Wilson. That one seems a stretch since Wilson is making $7.25 million this year with an $8.4 million club option next year. Another Pirate whose name has floated recently in trade talk is second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who's making $6.25 million with an $8 million club option for 2010 that kicks in with 635 plate appearances this year. He's currently batting .316 with 329 plate appearances but hasn't played since July 2 because of back problems.
Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said earlier today that Betancourt would play seven innings at shortstop tonight, start at second base Friday and possibly be activated off the disabled list this weekend. He was eligible to come off the DL today after suffering a hamstring injury to his right leg on June 24.
After tonight's game, Wakamatsu said he wasn't aware that Betancourt hadn't played in Tacoma. You'd think the manager would know if a player was pulled because of an imminent trade.
However, there's too much smoke here not to be some sort of flame.
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