Betemit dealt, Cabrera on deck?

As expected, Wilson Betemit has been traded. The return was what you'd expect for a seldom used utility infielder, meaning not much. I think it's apparent that KC drove down Betemit's value (which to be fair, may not have been all that much to begin with) by relegating him to pinch hitting duty. He had a 129 OPS+ as a Royal in 541 PA's, so he can obviously hit, but Moore backed himself in a corner by surrendering whatever leverage existed. The bigger news is that Mike Aviles has been called up to take Betemit's spot on the 25 man roster, this will hopefully lead to some bench time for Getz.

The players KC received from Detroit are likely just organization filler but Cruz is young enough that a future spot in the Royals bullpen isn't out of the question.

Antonio Javier Cruz - 19 years old

Year	Age	Tm	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	WHIP	H/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2009	17	Tigers	FRk	3	2	3.03	15	6	1	38.2	27	32	31	1.526	6.3	7.4	7.2	0.97
2010	18	3 Teams	A-A--Rk	2	1	3.13	24	0	0	37.1	34	20	28	1.446	8.2	4.8	6.8	1.40
2010	18	Tigers	Rk	0	0	7.20	5	0	0	5.0	5	4	3	1.800	9.0	7.2	5.4	0.75
2010	18	Connecticut	A-	0	1	2.08	9	0	0	13.0	10	6	12	1.231	6.9	4.2	8.3	2.00
2010	18	West Michigan	A	2	0	2.79	10	0	0	19.1	19	10	13	1.500	8.8	4.7	6.1	1.30
2011	19	West Michigan	A	2	6	3.11	22	10	1	75.1	68	28	58	1.274	8.1	3.3	6.9	2.07
3 Seasons				7	9	3.09	61	16	2	151.1	129	80	117	1.381	7.7	4.8	7.0	1.46

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Julio Alberto Rodriguez - 21 years old

Year	Age	Tm	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG
2007	17	Tigers	FRk	39	149	137	17	36	9	0	0	29	6	12	.263	.297	.328
2008	18	Tigers	FRk	49	184	157	21	41	11	1	0	29	14	15	.261	.348	.344
2009	19	2 Teams	Rk-A+	40	138	128	12	26	7	0	1	12	4	11	.203	.243	.281
2009	19	Tigers	Rk	38	131	121	11	24	7	0	1	12	4	11	.198	.240	.281
2009	19	Lakeland	A+	2	7	7	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.286	.286	.286
2010	20	3 Teams	A--A+-A	82	322	298	28	74	14	2	3	28	12	44	.248	.285	.339
2010	20	Connecticut	A-	52	205	189	19	51	10	2	1	14	10	32	.270	.317	.360
2010	20	West Michigan	A	2	8	8	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	.250	.250	.250
2010	20	Lakeland	A+	28	109	101	9	21	4	0	2	13	2	11	.208	.226	.307
2011	21	Lakeland	A+	66	246	226	20	64	11	1	1	27	10	28	.283	.325	.354
5 Seasons				276	1039	946	98	241	52	4	5	125	46	110	.255	.302	.334

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

The Phillies are reportedly kicking the tires on Melky Cabrera. He would bring back a far more substantial return than Betemit, given his production and contract status. Anyone acquiring Cabrera would control him through next year, so if a team believes his 2011 numbers are legit, KC could end with a nice prospect.