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Rafael Betancourt	#63 \| Pitcher \| Cleveland Indians

Height: 6-2 Weight: 200 Throws: R Bats: R
Born: Apr 29, 1975, Cumana,
Contract: Signed through 2009, club option for 2010

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Player News

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Player Notes

July 30, 2008
Rafael Betancourt continues to struggle to find the form that made him one of the most dominant relievers in baseball, but the team is still hopeful that he will rebound down the stretch, according to MLB.com. "You look at the depth of his breaking ball and the arm action on his changeup, and it's better," manager Eric Wedge said. "Where he struggles is in regard to how to use it."

July 16, 2008
Rafael Betancourt has been a huge disappointment for the Indians in the first half as he has failed to remotely approach his production of last season, according to The Plain Dealer.

May 16, 2008
Updating a previous report, Rafael Betancourt has indeed been removed from the closers role in Cleveland and the spot will now be filled by four pitchers, according to the Associated Press. I look at it like we have four guys I feel comfortable using in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, depending on the matchup and availability, manager Eric Wedge said. Thats how Im goring to play it out. Im not going to say somebody is or somebody isnt (a closer). I feel we can be comfortable using all four of those guys.

May 16, 2008
Rafael Betancourt, who has struggled for most of the past two weeks, may have lost his hold on the closing job in Cleveland to Masa Kobayashi, according to MLB.com. "I've got to reflect upon everything and go from there," manager Eric Wedge said when asked about the fate of Bentancourt. "I haven't had time to think about it just yet."

May 15, 2008
Rafael Betancourt just isn't getting it done right now, he has allowed runs in five of his last seven appearances after allowing another run on Thursday.

May 12, 2008
Matt Stairs singled to open the Toronto 10th and took second on an infield single by Lyle Overbay on a ball that glanced off Rafael Betancourt's left elbow and ricocheted into foul ground. Betancourt was examined by trainers and stayed in the game to face Gregg Zahn, who bunted over both runners. Pinch-hitter Brad Wilkerson was intentionally walked to load the bases for Stewart, whose flyball to center easily scored Stairs. Hill's single to center made it 3-0.

May 7, 2008
Rafael Betancourt (5.93 ERA) got three quick outs in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees for his third save of the season.

April 25, 2008
Rafael Betancourt worked a perfect ninth for his second save in as many nights. The right-hander added a strikeout to raise his April total to 12.

April 24, 2008
The Rafael Betancourt era began on Thursday as he picked up his first save since Joe Borowski was placed on the DL.

April 15, 2008
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Rafael Betancourt will replace Borowski at closer. The report noted that the right-hander wasn't available Tuesday night against Boston after pitching two days in a row.

April 15, 2008
Rafael Betancourt will likely get the first chance to be the Indians' acting closer while Joe Borowski is on the DL, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. If the team decides to experiment with a "closer by committee", then Rafael Perez, Jensen Lewis, Masa Kobayashi and Jorge Julio would all get a shot.

January 23, 2008
Rafael Betancourt avoided arbitration with Cleveland by signing a two-year deal on Wednesday, according to the AP. The deal includes an option for a third year. Betancourt was one of the best setup men in the game last year, holding a 1.47 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in 68 games, and he could see ninth-inning work if the Tribe ever decide to remove Joe Borowski from the closer role.

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