Yuniesky Betancourt can opt out of his minor league contract with the Phillies on March 24. In other words, the Phillies have less than three weeks to decide whether Betancourt will have an Opening Day roster spot. The 30-year-old infielder owns a weak .266/.290/.392 career batting line and has little range defensively, but MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki thinks he will make the team as a bench player.

Phillies signed INF Yuniesky Betancourt to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

According to MLBTradeRumors.com, free agent infielder Yuniesky Betancourt expects to land somewhere soon. "I can assure you that Yuni will be signing a major league contract," agent Alex Esteban told MLBTR. "Currently, there are four teams we are in conversations with and we expect to be finalizing a deal shortly after the holidays." Betancourt, 30, hit just .228/.256/.400 with seven homers and 36 RBI in 57 games this past season for the Royals.

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals have requested release waivers on Yuniesky Betancourt. Just a formality before he hits the open market. Betancourt was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier this month after hitting just .228/.256/.400 with seven home runs, 36 RBI and a .656 OPS over 228 plate appearances this season. He wasn't worth his $2 million salary, but it likely won't take him long to find a minor league deal elsewhere.

Royals designated INF Yuniesky Betancourt for assignment. For some reason, Kansas City handed Yuni a one-year contract worth $2 million over the winter. We aren't sure if another team would have gone above a minor-league deal. The 30-year-old native of Cuba has never finished a season with an on-base percentage above .310 (.260 this year), nor an OPS better than .725 (.668), and his defense was so awful at shortstop that the Royals only played him one game at the position this year. He keeps getting opportunities, but odds are that he's signed his last major league contract.

Yuniesky Betancourt blasted a two-run homer Tuesday in a win against the Rays. It was his only hit of the game, but helped Kansas City take a lead in the third inning and ultimately win a blowout. Yuni has posted a solid .461 slugging percentage, but he's getting on base at a typically horrific rate (.290 OPS). He's ownable in AL-only leagues, of course, due to the playing time he garners in our country's barbeque capital.

Yuniesky Betancourt blasted a two-run homer Saturday in a losing effort against the Pirates. Yuni finished the night 1-for-5. He's now hit safely in each of his six games since returning from the disabled list and has three dingers in just 74 at-bats this season. But the fact that he's sharing time at second base makes him mostly irrelevant in mixed fantasy leagues.

Yuniesky Betancourt (ankle) could rejoin the Royals as soon as this weekend. Betancourt went 2-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday in his first game with Triple-A Omaha and is hitting .368 (7-for-19) on his rehab assignment. He'll share playing time at second base upon his return.

Yuniesky Betancourt (ankle) will continue his minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha. Betancourt batted .333 (5-for-15) with a homer and four RBI in four rehab games with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He should be able to rejoin the Royals within the next few days. The 30-year-old infielder has been sidelined since early May with an ankle sprain.

Yuniesky Betancourt (ankle) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Thursday at the Double-A level. Betancourt has been out of commission since May 2 with an ankle sprain. It is fully healed by now and he should be ready to return to the bigs by the end of May.