Yanks to deal Proctor for Betemit

Yanks to deal Proctor for Betemit
Ken Rosenthal
FOXSports.com,
The Yankees are on the verge of acquiring infielder Wilson Betemit from the Dodgers for right-handed reliever Scott Proctor, according to a major-league source.

Betemit, 26, is a switch-hitter who can play multiple positions and possibly be the Yankees' third baseman next season if Alex Rodriguez departs as a free agent.
Proctor, 30, will give the Dodgers an additional bullpen arm, offering protection if closer Takashi Saito suffers further shoulder trouble and setup man Jonathan Broxton must close.

The deal was first reported by SI.com.

Many clubs, however, are concerned that Proctor is worn down after making 83 appearances last season and 52 this season. He was 2-5 with a 3.81 ERA with the Yankees, allowing eight home runs in 54 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers, after failing to acquire A's right-hander Joe Blanton on Monday, turned their attention to bullpen help. They lost out on Royals closer Octavio Dotel, who is close to joining the Braves.

Betemit hit .231 with 10 homers and 26 RBIs with Los Angeles, which acquired him from the Atlanta Braves in a deadline deal last season. He played mostly third base with the Dodgers but is unlikely to see much time there this season with Rodriguez in the midst of an MVP-type year.

Yankees manager Joe Torre has complained about the significant dropoff offensively from his starters to reserves, and Betemit could be the answer. The 25-year-old switch-hitter also can play shortstop and second base and is batting .320 (8-for-25) as a pinch hitter this season. He had pinch-hit homers in consecutive games at Atlanta in May.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

another bat off the bench, maybe he will play some 1st as well. sad to see Proctor leave though even if he was struggling a little bit lately.