Guardians' Christian Bethancourt: Catches on with Cleveland
Rotowire
The Guardians claimed Bethancourt off waivers from the Rays on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt spent a large portion of the 2023 season as the Rays' No. 1 catcher and put up decent counting statistics over his 332 plate appearances (11 home runs, 49 runs, 33 RBI and one stolen base), but an ugly .225/.254/.381 slash line (74 wRC+) made his less useful at the plate from a real-life standpoint. Still, the 32-year-old graded out as a capable defender behind the dish and wasn't a complete zero with the bat, so he should at least make for a dependable backup option and short-side platoon mate in Cleveland for No. 1 backstop Bo Naylor.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Placed on waivers
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The Rays placed Bethancourt on outright waivers Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt will join five teammates on the waiver wire in an effort from the Rays to clear space on the 40-man roster. The 32-year-old backstop slashed .225/.254/.381 across 332 plate appearances in 2023 and could be picked up by another team in search of a backup catcher.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Out of lineup again Wednesday
Rotowire
Bethancourt is not in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Rangers.
Bethancourt also began Game 1 on the bench, although he did enter at catcher late after Rene Pinto was lifted for a pinch hitter. The Rays began leaning toward Pinto over Bethancourt behind the plate in September and that has carried over into the playoffs.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Remains on bench
Rotowire
Bethancourt will sit for the second straight game Saturday against the Mariners, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt has hit just .240/.264/.380 over the last month, striking out 21 times to go with just two walks. Rene Pinto will get another start behind the plate.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Sitting Friday
Rotowire
Bethancourt isn't in the Rays' lineup Friday against Seattle.
Bethancourt will take a seat Friday after going 0-for-7 with five strikeouts across his last three games. Rene Pinto will start behind the dish and bat ninth.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Sitting again Wednesday
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Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt and Rene Pinto have alternated starts over the past 15 games, but Pinto will make his second straight start Wednesday against Boston. Bethancourt has a .226/.258/.375 slash line with nine home runs in 94 games this season and should continue to split time with Pinto down the stretch.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Cedes start to Pinto
Rotowire
Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.
Bethancourt will retreat to the bench after he caught all nine innings of Monday's 7-3 loss in the series opener while striking out in each of his three plate appearances. Rene Pinto will get a turn behind the plate while he and Bethancourt continue to work in a near-even timeshare at catcher.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Takes seat Sunday
Rotowire
Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Rene Pinto will get the nod behind the dish in the series finale in Cleveland. Bethnacourt and Pinto have alternated starts at catcher over the past 12 games and look to be stuck in a near-even timeshare for now.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Bethancourt is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins.
Bethancourt and Rene Pinto have alternated starts behind the plate over the past eight games, and that trend will continue Tuesday after Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a run during Sunday's series finale against the Yankees.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Heads to bench
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Bethancourt will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Yankees, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Bethancourt's share of the playing time behind the plate hasn't meaningfully changed with the shift from Francisco Mejia to Rene Pinto as the team's second catcher. Bethancourt and Pinto have each started eight of the team's last 16 games.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Rejoins lineup Wednesday
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Bethancourt will start at catcher and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Though he's hitting .300 with a .756 OPS in August, Bethancourt's standing atop the depth chart at catcher may still be somewhat shaky. He was on the bench for four of the previous six games while the Rays opted to give Rene Pinto more work behind the dish. Bethancourt's longer track record should be enough to make him the Rays' nominal No. 1 catcher, and both he and Pinto will no longer be threatened by Francisco Mejia (knee), who was designated for assignment Tuesday after being reinstated from the 10-day injured list.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Ends homer drought
Rotowire
Bethancourt went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and two RBI in Monday's 10-2 rout of the Giants.
Bethancourt knocked in a run with a single in the fifth inning and added a solo homer to left field in the seventh. He finished with his third three-hit performance of the campaign and swatted his first long ball since May 20, a span of 50 games. Bethancourt hit six homers over his first 21 contests this season but has gone deep just twice in 60 games since.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Out of lineup
Rotowire
Bethancourt will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Guardians, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt hits the bench after starting four of the last five games. He's seen his playing time slightly increase while Francisco Mejia (knee) is on the injured list, but it will be Rene Pinto who squats behind the plate Saturday.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Hits bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Bethancourt will be getting a breather Wednesday after he started at catcher in three of the Rays' last four games. Rene Pinto will step in behind the dish and form a battery with starting pitcher Jalen Beeks.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Notches two hits
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Bethancourt went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Sunday's win over the Tigers.
Bethancourt tallied his first multi-hit effort since June 30 and had just his second extra-base hit in his last 20 games. The 31-year-old has had a rough go at the plate this year, slashing .218/.251/.368 with seven homers, 23 RBI, 33 runs and an 11:63 BB:K in 248 plate appearances. Despite his struggles, Bethancourt faces little competition for starts behind the dish since Francisco Mejia (knee) went down with a sprained knee July 20.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: On bench amid slump
Rotowire
Bethancourt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees.
Rene Pinto will start at catcher for the Rays and bat ninth. Bethancourt has gone 1-for-21 (.048) over his last nine games and is slashing just .130/.200/.152 in 50 plate appearances since the beginning of July.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Bethancourt is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Bethancourt is just 3-for-24 since the All-Star break and will take a seat Sunday for the second time in Tampa Bay's last three games. Rene Pinto will take over behind the plate to catch for opener Zack Littell.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: On bench Friday
Rotowire
Bethancourt is out of the lineup Friday at Houston.
Rene Pinto will start behind the plate and bat ninth versus the Astros and right-hander Cristian Javier. Bethancourt had started at catcher in the Rays' previous three games with Francisco Mejia (knee) on the IL.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Takes seat Sunday
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Bethancourt isn't in the Rays' lineup Sunday against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt has essentially alternated starts with Francisco Mejia all season, and Sunday will bring up Mejia's turn behind the plate. Bethancourt is slashing just .167/.211/.167 across 19 plate appearances since the beginning of July.
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Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Not in Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Bethancourt will sit Saturday against Atlanta, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt has looked like the Rays' clear top catcher over the last two weeks, starting eight of 11 games behind the plate prior to Saturday's contest. That run immediately followed a stretch in which Bethancourt and Francisco Mejia alternated starts for 12 consecutive games, however, so it's not clear that Bethancourt will start much more than half of Tampa Bay's games after the All-Star break.
