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.

Yuniesky Betancourt (ankle) is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment next week.

Betancourt was placed on the disabled list earlier this month with a high ankle sprain, and will likely need to miss more than the minimum. The 30-year-old infielder was batting .280/.333/.420 with one home run and three RBI in 54 plate appearances this season prior to the injury.

Yuniesky Betancourt (ankle) will be shut down for 10 days.

Betancourt was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a high ankle sprain and will likely need to miss more than the minimum. The 30-year-old infielder is batting .280/.333/.420 with one home run and three RBI in 54 plate appearances this season. Chris Getz figures to get most of the playing time at second base during his absence, but Irving Falu was added to the active roster Thursday.

Royals placed INF Yuniesky Betancourt on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 2, with a sprained ankle.

Betancourt should be recovered in two weeks. The 30-year-old infielder is batting .280/.333/.420 with one home run and three RBI in 54 plate appearances this season.

Yuniesky Betancourt went 2-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season Saturday against the Indians.

Betancourt has been splitting time at second base with Chris Getz in the early going, and has started out with the hotter bat. He's hitting .389 (7-for-18) thus far and may be playing his way into more starts.

Royals manager Ned Yost said Yuniesky Betancourt and Chris Getz will share second base.

The Royals optioned Johnny Giavotella to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday, leaving the veterans to platoon. "(Giavotella) needs to continue to focus on his defense," Yost said. "Johnny is a much better defender today than he was at this time last year, but we had two better defensive options in Betancourt and Getz." Neither is worth a look in fantasy outside of deep AL-only formats. Betancourt, 30, batted just .252/.271/.381 with 13 homers, 68 RBI and a .652 OPS for the Brewers last season. The 28-year-old Getz batted .255/.313/.287 with 26 RBI, 21 stolen bases and a .600 OPS over 429 plate appearances in a semi-regular role for the Royals in 2011.

Royals manager Ned Yost said Yuniesky Betancourt is "neck and neck" with Johnny Giavotella and Chris Getz in competition for the starting job at second base.

"I'd never seen him at second base, and he's come in and (made an impression)," Yost said. "They're all neck and neck. Nobody is pulling out in front of anybody yet. But (Betancourt) is in that race." Betancourt started at second base Saturday, and he's evidently impressed Yost despite a .258/.281/.452 batting line this spring. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star thinks that one of Giavotella or Getz will begin the season in the minors.

Yuniesky Betancourt singled and ripped a solo homer in Thursday's win over the Rockies.

The blast came in the fourth inning off left-hander Josh Outman. The Royals are planning on playing Betancourt 3-4 times per week this season, and he could conceivably wind up with more time than that if Johnny Giavotella gets off to a slow start at second base.

Royals manager Ned Yost estimates that Yuniesky Betancourt will start "three or four times a week" this season.

Betancourt signed with the Royals this winter to serve as a utility player, but it sounds like he could be thrown into the mix pretty often. Three or four times per week is probably a stretch unless there's an injury, but he should still see a decent amount of playing time as a backup at shortstop, second base and the hot corner. We would ignore him outside of AL-only fantasy formats, though.

According to Rustin C. Dodd of the Kansas City Star, Yuniesky Betancourt's one-year contract with the Royals is worth $2 million.

He could earn an additional $500,000 in performance-based incentives. Betancourt, who turns 30 in January, batted just .252/.271/.381 with 13 homers, 68 RBI and a .652 OPS for the Brewers this past season while playing his usual below average defense. He is expected to serve as a backup at shortstop, second base and the hot corner in 2012.

Royals signed SS Yuniesky Betancourt to a one-year contract.

According to the club's official Twitter account, Betancourt will serve as a backup at "short, third and second" next season in Kansas City. He posted a rough .252/.271/.381 batting line in 2011 for the Brewers while playing his usual brand of poor defense. No word yet on the financial terms.