Rockies Agree to terms with Betancourt, Payton, and LoDuca
DENVER — The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with right-handed relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt through 2011. Additionally, former Rockies outfielder Jay Payton and catcher Paul Lo Duca have agreed to Minor League contracts with the club and received non-roster invitations to Spring Training. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed, per club policy.
Betancourt, 34, went 4-3 with a 2.73 ERA (56.0 IP, 17 ER) in 61 games while splitting his time with Colorado and Cleveland in 2009. He posted 61 strikeouts and 20 walks while holding opponents to a .209 (42-for-201) batting average against. The Rockies acquired Betancourt from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Minor League right-handed pitcher Connor Graham on July 23, 2009. Betancourt made 32 appearances in a Rockies uniform, going 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA (25.1 IP, 5 ER). He pitched in Games Two, Three and Four of the National League Division Series vs. the Philadelphia Phillies and allowed one run in 2.1 innings.
A premiere late-inning reliever, Betancourt has appeared in at least 50 games in each of the last six seasons since 2004. Following a trade to the Rockies last July, he immediately became the club’s primary setup man, leading the team with 12 holds and a save down the stretch. Betancourt had his best statistical season in 2007, as he recorded 31 holds (tied for American League lead) while posting a career-low 1.47 ERA.
A veteran of seven Major League seasons, Betancourt has made 403 appearances with Colorado (2009) and Cleveland (2003-09) since his debut in 2003. During his tenure with the Indians, the right-hander went 23-22 with 3.25 ERA (410.0 IP, 148 ER). He has 18 career saves and 96 holds. The Venezuelan native pitched for his home country during the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
Payton, 37, has not played professional baseball since 2008, when he hit .243 (82-for-338) with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 127 games for the Baltimore Orioles. He will return to the Rockies organization for the first time since 2003. Between his two-year stint with the Orioles and his time with the Rockies (2002-03), Payton played for San Diego (2004), Boston (2005) and Oakland (2005-06). The outfielder had his best statistical season while playing for Colorado in 2003, hitting .302 with 32 doubles, 28 home runs and 89 RBIs. A first round selection (29th overall) by the New York Mets in the 1994 June draft, Payton owns a career batting average of .278 (1,145-for-4,119) with 119 home runs and 521 RBIs.
Lo Duca, 38, last played for the Florida Marlins in 2008. He began that season with the Washington Nationals and hit a combined .243 (42-for-173) with nine doubles and 15 RBIs in 67 games between the two clubs. A four-time National League All-Star catcher (2003-06), Lo Duca played in 588 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1998-2004, hitting .287 (612-for-2,131) with 57 home runs and 275 RBIs. He had career highs in home runs (25) and RBI (90) in 2001. A career .286 hitter (1,112-for-3,892), Lo Duca has played 1,082 games for the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets and Nationals.
