Ummm...what?

The Royals got the shortstop they have coveted for so long, acquiring 27 year old shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt from the Seattle Mariners for minor league pitchers Dan Cortes and Derrick Saito. Betancourt was hitting .250/.278/.330 with 2 HR and 22 RBI in 63 games. His best offensive year was in 2007 when he hit .289/.308/.418 with 9 HR 67 RBI. He has a lifetime .302 on-base percentage.

His UZR last season was -12.7 and he has actually gotten worse this year, posting a -18. He is signed through 2011, and is owed $3 million in 2010, and $4 million in 2011. He has a $6 million club option for 2012, with a $2 million buyout.

Fangraphs has his value at $-3.6 million.

The only thing that would make this funnier is if Betancourt were hurt.  Oh, wait...

Betancourt is currently on the disabled list with a hamstring injury and is on rehab assignment in the minor leagues.

So the Royals traded a couple of decent pitching prospects -- BA had Cortes as the #3 prospect in the system last year -- for an expensive, bad shortstop.

What in the hell are they doing over there?