Here's some good news: White Sox pitchers will get to face Yuniesky Betancourt again in 2012.
The Royals brought Betancourt back a year after shipping him to Milwaukee in the Zack Greinke trade, signing the shortstop to a one-year, 2 million contract. MLB Trade Rumors passed along this statement from Royals GM Dayton Moore:
We have been looking for a utility infielder who could play short, third and second base and we feel Yuni is a great fit. He brings a right-handed bat with some power and is a guy we know fits in well in the clubhouse.
Betancourt can play shortstop, but not very well. UZR and DRS have rated him as well below average in each of the last five seasons, often to the point where he's a liability every time he sets foot on the field. He doesn't have much in the way of range and doesn't limit his errors -- in other words, there's little he does right.
He does have decent power for a shortstop, hitting 29 home runs in the last two seasons. But his on-base percentage in the last two years has been well below .300, plummeting to .271 in 2011.
In 189 career plate appearances against the White Sox, Betancourt has a .237 OBP, although he has hit eight home runs. But still. A .237 OBP.
Betancourt will fill a utility role, so he shouldn't get the 580 plate appearances he's seen in the last two seasons, so that's a bit of a relief for Royals fans.