MLB Rumors: Wilson Betemit to the Pirates?

Wilson Betemit

has had some interesting up and down offensive seasons recently. The Pittsburgh Pirates are trying to ink him to a deal the PG reported today.

Betemit absolutely blows defensively, but with the Pirates penchant for matching their North Side neighbors by collecting a pile of defense this offseason, maybe that will be ok. Getting a player that can hit the ball with red stitches on it is a great idea.

His time in Yankees pinstripes wasn’t real pretty as he put up a .226/.278/.417 line in almost 100 plate appareances back in 2007. Before Brian Cashman pulled an insane deal when he moved Betemit for Nick Swisher prior to 2009, he hit just 265/.289/.429 in almost 200 plate appearances.

He was so bad in 2009 that the White Sox sent him to AAA. But as has been a trend for Betemit, he always finds a new team willing to take a shot on him.

And in 2010, the Royals caught lightning in a bottle as Betemit had a bounceback season.  The big thing we noted was that he crushed both lefties and righties.

Of course as all blips on a Major Leaguers resume, it started to fade this season. Betemit was still solid as he played with the Royals and Tigers. He had a .340 wOBA in 359 plate appearances. He couldn’t hit left handers again though last season which sucks should the Pirates see him as a bench stick.

Will he help the Pirates in 2012? Bill James doesn’t seem to think he will bounce back to his raking tendencies of 2010, but he wouldn’t be bad on the bench for the Bucs for the right price.

He’s not a bad insurance plan if he doesn’t have to play the field, and hopefully Pedro Alvarez will make him what he needs to be, a bench player, who has shown he can hit right handed pitching.