CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT NEWS

On bench Saturday Bethancourt will sit Saturday against the Padres, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt has the edge in starts over Francisco Mejia on the season by a 43-31 margin, but the pair have taken turns behind the plate over the last six games. An even split better suits their respective performances at the plate, as Bethancourt's .675 OPS isn't meaningfully better than Mejia's .662 mark.

JUNE 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Gets Tuesday off Bethancourt is not in the starting lineup versus the Athletics on Tuesday.

Impact Bethancourt has struggled mightily in the month of June with a slash of .115/.148/.115 over 27 plate appearances. He'll get Tuesday off against Oakland with Francisco Mejia starting behind the plate and hitting ninth.

JUNE 13, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sitting Wednesday vs. Twins Bethancourt is not in the starting lineup versus Minnesota on Wednesday.

Impact Bethancourt continues to alternate backstop duties with Francisco Mejia, and Mejia will get the start behind the plate and hit ninth against Minnesota on Wednesday.

JUNE 7, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Resting Monday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt will take a seat for the series finale in Boston after he was behind the dish for three of the Rays' previous four games. Francisco Mejia will catch for starting pitcher Shane McClanahan on Monday.

JUNE 5, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sits during night game Bethancourt will be on the bench for the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against Boston, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact Bethancourt hits the bench after going 1-for-10 with a run scored in the first game of the day. Francisco Mejia will take over behind the plate. Bethancourt still has the clear edge in playing time on the season, starting 35 games to Mejia's 25, though he's yet to make more than two starts in a row at any point this season.

JUNE 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sitting Tuesday Bethancourt isn't in the Rays' lineup Tuesday against the Cubs, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt has been seeing the ball well lately, logging a 1.133 OPS across 15 plate appearances over the past week. He'll get a day off Tuesday in favor of Francsico Mejia, who will bat ninth.

MAY 30, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Riding pine Sunday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Impact Bethancourt was behind the plate for both of the past two games, so it's not surprising that he'll get a breather Sunday while the series finale with the Dodgers begins at 11:35 a.m. ET. Francisco Mejia will start at catcher and form a battery with starting pitcher Josh Fleming.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Piling up hits Bethancourt went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI on Friday against the Dodgers.

Impact Bethancourt turned in his second consecutive multi-hit game and third in his last four starts. After slugging five homers in April, Bethancourt has only two long balls -- and six extra-base hits overall -- across 18 games in May. Nevertheless, he's maintained a .275 batting average with five RBI and seven runs scored in that same span.

MAY 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Gets breather Thursday Bethancourt is not in the lineup Thursday against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact Bethancourt went 2-for-4 and caught the full game in Tampa Bay's win over the Jays on Wednesday night. Francisco Mejia will start behind the plate and bat ninth in Thursday's afternoon tilt.

MAY 25, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

On bench Sunday Bethancourt is not in the starting lineup Sunday versus the Brewers, Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt will get a day off after he went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a strikeout in Saturday's victory. Francisco Mejia will take over behind the plate and bat ninth in the series finale with Milwaukee.

MAY 21, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Slugs seventh homer Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Brewers.

Impact Bethancourt was one of three Rays to take Eric Lauer deep Saturday, with his solo shot coming in the fourth inning. He now has seven long balls on the season, three of which have come in his last 15 games. Bethancourt has had an all-or-nothing profile in 106 plate appearances on the campaign, as he has a .267 on-base percentage but a .273 ISO.

MAY 21, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Gets Wednesday off Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt will receive some routine maintenance after he caught both of the Rays' past two games. Francisco Mejia will relieve Bethancourt behind the dish Wednesday.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Gets Saturday off Bethancourt will sit Saturday against the Yankees, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Impact Despite the day off, Bethancourt remains the clear primary option behind the plate in Tampa Bay, catching 24 games to Francisco Mejia's 17. Bethancourt's .776 OPS handily beats Mejia's .622 mark, so don't expect the depth chart to flip any time soon.

MAY 13, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Not in lineup Thursday Bethancourt is not starting Thursday versus the Yankees, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Francisco Mejia will catch and bat ninth in the opening game of the Rays' four-game series in the Bronx. Bethancourt caught the final two games of Tampa Bay's three-game set in Baltimore.

MAY 11, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Moves to bench Monday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt will get a breather after he caught both of the final two games of the Rays' series with the Yankees over the weekend. Francisco Mejia will spell Bethancourt behind the dish.

MAY 8, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Hits clutch three-run homer Bethancourt went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 8-7 win over the Yankees in extras.

Impact Bethancourt chased Gerrit Cole in the sixth inning with a game-tying, three-run home run. The catcher now has six homers and 14 RBI across 21 games (80 plate appearances), and he continues to operate as the No. 1 catcher, while Francisco Mejia (16 games and 57 plate appearances) serves as the backup.

MAY 8, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Resting Wednesday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact He'll take a seat after going 1-for-8 with a home run while catching in both of the past two games. Francisco Mejia will check in behind the plate in place of Bethancourt.

MAY 3, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Swats late home run Bethancourt went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI in Sunday's 12-9 loss to the White Sox.

Impact Bethancourt was quieted at the plate until taking Kendall Graveman deep in the eighth for his fifth home run of the season. The 31-year-old plated his second run of the game the following inning on a sacrifice fly. Bethancourt had a career-high 11 home runs, 34 RBI and 39 runs scored a season ago and seems well on his way to surpassing those marks barring any sort of injury. He's now slashing .250/.303/.567 with nine extra base hits, 11 RBI, 12 runs and a 5:17 BB:K over 66 plate appearances.

MAY 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

On bench Tuesday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Astros, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt appears to have settled in as the Rays' preferred starter behind the plate, but like most catchers, he'll still be subject to at least a couple days off per week. Francisco Mejia will form a battery with starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen on Tuesday while Bethancourt heads to the bench.

APRIL 25, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Settling into primary starting role Bethancourt went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored Monday against the Astros.

Impact Bethancourt started the season in an even split behind the plate with Francisco Mejia, but Bethancourt has started six of the last eight games behind the plate. He's earned that extra run as he's in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, during which he's hit .400 with three homers, eight RBI and seven runs scored. Overall, Bethancourt has maintained a 170 wRC+ and a .409 wOBA across 54 plate appearances on the campaign.

APRIL 25, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Out of lineup Bethancourt will be on the bench Saturday against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Impact Bethancourt has been the primary backstop in Tampa Bay this season, but not by a wide margin. He's started 12 games behind the plate, while Saturday's starter Francisco Mejia will be getting the call for the ninth time.

APRIL 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Pops fourth homer Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-7 win over the White Sox.

Impact With the Rays down 7-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth and staring at their first home loss of the season, Bethancourt kicked off the game-winning rally by squeaking an opposite-field shot just over the right-field wall. It's the catcher's third long ball as part of his six-game hitting streak, and he's now hitting .268 (11-for-41) on the year with four homers, seven RBI and nine runs in 12 contests.

APRIL 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Smashes three-run shot in win Bethancourt went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 8-1 win over Toronto.

Impact Bethancourt's three-run shot in the fifth extended Tampa Bay's lead to 7-1 and gave the catcher a long ball in back-to-back games. After not getting a hit across his first three starts, Bethancourt has hit safely in five of his last six, totaling two multi-hit games and six RBI during that stretch.

APRIL 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

McClanahan gets fourth win, Rays rout Manoah, Blue Jays 8-1

Shane McClanahan pitched six effective innings in his fourth straight win, and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by topping the Toronto Blue Jays 8-1

APRIL 16, 2023 • Associated Press