Christian Bethancourt - Page 6 - MLB News, Rumors, & Updates

Rays acquire Bethancourt from Athletics for catching depth

Needing depth at behind the plate, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired catcher and infielder Christian Bethancourt from the Oakland Athletics for a pair of minor leaguers

JULY 9, 2022 • Associated Press

A's acquire farm depth in trading Bethancourt to Rays OAKLAND -- The first move of what is expected to be an active period for the A’s ahead of the Aug. 2 Trade Deadline was struck Friday, when...

JULY 9, 2022 • MLB.COM

Rays acquire Christian Bethancourt from A's The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired catcher/infielder Christian Bethancourt from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for AAA outfielder Cal Steve...

JULY 9, 2022 • THEATHLETIC.COM

A's deal Bethancourt to Rays for pair of Minor Leaguers The Oakland Athletics traded catcher/infielder Christian Bethancourt to the Tampa Bay Rays for Minor League right-handed pitcher Christian F...

JULY 9, 2022 • MLB.COM

Traded to Tampa Bay Bethancourt was traded from the Athletics to the Rays on Saturday in exchange for Cal Stevenson and Christian Fernandez, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Impact It's been quite the year for Bethancourt, who returned to the majors for the first time since 2017 and performed well enough to catch the eye of an organization famous for spotting talent. Bethancourt was a light-hitting catcher for the early part of his career, hitting .222/.252/.316 in 161 games from 2013 to 2017, but he's posted a nearly average 99 wRC+ (the product of a .249/.298/.385 slash line) this season while making the majority of his starts at first base. Catcher is likely where the Rays see Bethancourt fitting in, as Mike Zunino remains out with a shoulder injury. His bat should play better there, and there's reason to believe he'll keep up his solid performance despite his lack of a track record, as his 14.0 percent barrel rate this season is quite strong.

JULY 9, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Benched again Sunday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact After going 4-for-30 at the plate with 11 strikeouts over his last eight games, Bethancourt is beginning to see his playing time trend downward. He'll find himself on the bench for the fourth time in seven contests and may need to turn things around quickly to remain a regular in the Oakland lineup.

JUNE 26, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Heads to bench Bethancourt will sit Friday against the Royals, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact Bethancourt may be splitting into the small side of a platoon, as his off day here against Zack Greinke means he's now sat against the last three righties Oakland have faced. That followed a run of five straight starts against righties, though, so it's unclear if that's the case. Sheldon Neuse will be the first baseman Friday.

JUNE 24, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Timely hitting in loss Bethancourt went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a walk in a loss to the Mariners on Thursday.

Impact Bethancourt's first-inning single plated Sheldon Neuse to give the Athletics some early momentum, although the end result was another low-scoring loss for Oakland. The 30-year-old had been mired in a 2-for-21 funk that had encompassed the previous six games, but the backstop has still produced a solid .269 average and excellent .577 slugging percentage over 15 games in June.

JUNE 24, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Gets breather Wednesday Bethancourt isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

Impact Bethancourt went 0-for-4 in Tuesday's series opener against Seattle and will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games. Stephen Vogt is starting at first base and batting seventh.

JUNE 22, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Not starting Sunday Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact Bethancourt is 1-for-14 with nine strikeouts over his past four games and will receive a day off to reset in the series finale versus Kansas City. Seth Brown will move to first base while Cristian Pache starts in the outfield.

JUNE 19, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Homers, steals base in loss Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a stolen base and a strikeout in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Guardians.

Impact Bethancourt started in every matchup during the Athletics' four-game series against Cleveland, and he went 9-for-17 with three homers, two doubles, five runs and five RBI over those four games. The 30-year-old had inconsistent playing time in late May and early June, but the Athletics will likely try to find ways to keep him in the lineup as long as he's swinging a hot bat.

JUNE 13, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Bethancourt's change in approach keys HR surge CLEVELAND -- Two weeks ago, it was hard to fathom a scenario in which Christian Bethancourt would make it through the season with the A’s, l...

JUNE 12, 2022 • MLB.COM

Offensive explosion in win Bethancourt went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run, an RBI single and an additional run scored in Saturday's victory over the Guardians.

Impact Bethancourt kicked off Saturday's game with an RBI single that sent Tony Kemp home. The first baseman later scored on a Seth Brown homer, and picked up a solo shot of his own in the top of the ninth inning. Bethancourt went homerless through May, but has three since the start of June. He's certainly picked things up this month with a hit in five of his last seven games to the tune of a .391 June batting average.

JUNE 12, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Three hits, two RBI in loss Bethancourt went 3-for-4 with one double, one home run, two RBI and one additional run scored in Thursday's loss to the Guardians.

Impact Bethancourt gave the Athletics an early lead with a two-run homer in the second inning. The slugger also came around to score in the sixth after sparking a rally with a two-out single. Across 38 games, Bethancourt is slashing .245/.292/.377 with two home runs and 12 RBI.

JUNE 10, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Belts first homer of year Bethancourt went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Astros.

Impact He took Justin Verlander deep in the seventh inning to give Oakland a 3-1 lead, but the bullpen imploded in the ninth. Bethancourt's blast was his first homer of the season and first extra-base hit since May 14, and the 30-year-old is slashing .229/.282/.323 through 104 plate appearances since joining the A's.

JUNE 2, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Multi-hit effort in Saturday's loss Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Rangers on Saturday.

Impact The reserve backstop reached safely for the fourth time in five games and generated his second multi-hit effort in that span. Bethancourt continues to be an occasional contributor at the plate, but it remains to be seen how much longer his stint on the big-league roster will last with Stephen Vogt (knee) kicking off his rehab assignment Saturday and therefore likely to return to action relatively soon.

MAY 29, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Scores twice in loss Bethancourt sent 2-for-3 with two runs in a loss to the Mariners on Monday.

Impact Bethancourt was effective in setting up some run-scoring opportunities while generating his fourth multi-hit effort of the season. The reserve backstop continues to see semi-regular playing time while Stephen Vogt (knee) remains on the injured list and now carries a .231/.286/.308 slash line across 85 plate appearances.

MAY 24, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Andy Ibañez, Christian Bethancourt and 4 more players you should be targeting in fantasy Andy Ibañez and Christian Bethancourt lead a group of six lightly-rostered players John Laghezza says you should pick up now.

MAY 18, 2022 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Plates another pair Thursday Bethancourt went 1-for-3 with a two-run single in a win over the Tigers on Thursday.

Impact One game after forging a three-hit effort that included two RBI, Bethancourt continued his timely hitting with a first-inning single that brought home both Jed Lowrie and Sheldon Neuse. The reserve backstop has been a serviceable contributor in the ongoing absence of Stephen Vogt (knee), posting a .250 average and seven RBI over 61 plate appearances.

MAY 13, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Starts after three-hit day Bethancourt will start at catcher and bat sixth in Thursday's game in Detroit, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Impact With top catcher Sean Murphy receiving a breather on getaway day, Bethancourt will check in behind the dish after manning first base in Wednesday's 9-0 win. Bethancourt was one of several Oakland hitters to enjoy a big day at the dish in the victory, as he went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.

MAY 12, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Comes through as pinch hitter Bethancourt entered Sunday's loss to the Guardians as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning and laced an RBI double, subsequently scoring a run.

Impact The reserve backstop put the first run of the game on the board for the Athletics with his timely two-bagger in the final frame that plated Sean Murphy. Bethancourt hasn't logged a start since Wednesday, and he's expected to head back to the minors once veteran Stephen Vogt (knee) returns from the injured list.

MAY 2, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Back on bench Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game agains the Rangers.

Impact After being added to the roster as a COVID-19 replacement April 15, Bethancourt made six consecutive starts, but he's since moved into more of a part-time role as the Athletics have gotten more players back from the injured list. He'll be on the bench for the second time in three games and is likely to see his opportunities grow scarcer from here on out.

APRIL 24, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Officially added to 40-man roster Bethancourt was officially added to Oakland's 40-man roster Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Impact Bethancourt's contract was selected by the Athletics last week to serve as a fill-in option while several players were sidelined. However, he'll remain on the 40-man roster after he hit .250 with a double, three runs, an RBI and a stolen base in six appearances with the Athletics. He'll serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth in Thursday's matchup against Baltimore.

APRIL 21, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Notches steal, on base three times. Bethancourt went 2-for-3 with a walk, run and stolen base in Tuesday's 2-1 win against the Orioles.

Impact Bethancourt singled and stole second in the second inning, singled and scored in the sixth and walked in the eighth to record his best all-around game of the season. It's a small sample size, but the 30-year-old has appeared in all five games since being promoted from Triple A and seeing his first big league action since 2017. He's responded by going 4-for-16, with all four hits coming in two of those games.

APRIL 20, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Contributes pair of hits Saturday Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with an RBI ground-rule double and a run in a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday.

Impact The journeyman backstop made an impact in his first start of the season, extending the Athletics' lead to 3-1 with his second-inning two-bagger. Bethancourt's stint with the big-league club may not extend beyond Austin Allen's stay on the restricted list, but as he showed Saturday, he can offer solid organizational depth at Triple-A Las Vegas and contribute in a pinch at the major-league level given his experience.

APRIL 17, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

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Rays acquire Bethancourt from Athletics for catching depth