Tigers acquire Wilson Betemit from Royals, designate Brandon Inge for assignment
The Detroit Tigers today traded for Kansas City Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit.
After tonight's 7-5 loss to the Athletics, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski announced that the team will officially designate Brandon Inge for assignment tomorrow. The plan is for Inge to clear waivers by Monday and for Inge to be send to Triple-A Toledo.
“It’s a tough situation,” general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “Brandon has done a lot for this organization … (but) he’s been scuffling.”
Inge is 4-for-54 since returning from mononucleosis June 24. Dombrowski wouldn’t reveal who will be removed from the 25-man roster to make room for Betemit. He said the club will make the announcement Thursday, when Betemit, 29, joins the team in Minneapolis.
After the game, Inge said he accepted the assignment, in part, because of the roots he and his family had set in Detroit. He also expressed gratitude to Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, who, according to Inge, said he did not want to release the third baseman.
Inge has full no-trade rights. He would have to sign off on a trade to another team. Inge is signed through next season at $5.75 million per year.
The Tigers gave up two prospects to get Betemit: Julio Rodriguez, a catcher for Class A Lakeland, and Antonio Cruz, left-handed pitcher for Class A West Michigan. Rodriguez was hitting .283, and Cruz was 2-6 with a 3.11 ERA.
Dombrowski said he had been looking for a third baseman recently. He also continues to look for a starting pitcher.
Betemit broke into the majors as a shortstop in Atlanta. He played part-time third base for the Royals the past two seasons, hitting .297 in 84 games last season and .281 in 57 games this year. He lost playing time when the Royals promoted rookie third baseman Mike Moustakas from Triple-A Omaha on June 10. Betemit started only five games and had 23 at-bats after Moustakas’ arrival.
He will be a free agent this off-season.
“Wilson’s a great guy, a kid who has got power and hits well from both sides of the plate,” Royals managers Ned Yost said. “He’s a good offensive player, who wore down at the end of last year. When Moose got here, he needed to play. Wilson is going to a club with a chance to play more.”
Dombrowski said the move was an offensive upgrade designed to help the team win “right now” by putting more pop in the bottom of the lineup.
He said the team didn’t want to get caught lacking at the trading deadline July 31. He said when he re-signed Inge in the off-season, he expected a .240 hitter with home run power and around 70 RBIs. Instead, Inge has managed only one home run and 17 RBIs while batting .177.
“I would not have thought that,” Dombrowski said. “We thought it would be a little better.”
Betemit also has played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox in a career that dates to 2001. He's a .268 career hitter.