Betancourt is older, but as mentioned below, Betancourt, by far, is the only one with a consistent track record of getting guys out on a regular basis, and probably has some of the best stuff in the pen (only Wood is noticeably better, and Wood doesn’t have Betancourt’s command). As also mentioned, he was looking more like his old self (and had almost locked up the setup role again, since he was the only consistent reliever out of the bullpen, even better than Wood) before he went down with that injury.

If someone really wants Betancourt, then you listen and maybe make a deal; otherwise, you likely restructure his option for next year (including adding a little more guaranteed money if necessary) and have him be part of the revamped bullpen. Of the “Big 3,” Betancourt looks to be the better bet over both Perez and Lewis, neither of which look close to their 2007 form (Lewis has lost velocity and command, giving up a tremendous amount of hits and HRs; Perez may have lost 1-2 MPH, but more importantly, can’t command his slider and keeps hanging it, plus is walking guys left and right).

Just my 2 cents.

Maybe it gives Fausto confidence to move up quickly

I don’t equate moving him to Columbus quickly with bringing him back quickly. I don’t think they’re moving him “up” as much as they’re just moving him around. He might start in Akron next week, and that wouldn’t really mean anything, either. It’s an unusual situation.

Maybe I misunderstood your original post.

I think the performances of Laffey, Carmona, and Rondon (not necessarily in that order) will play a major role in Shapiro’s decision whether or not to trade Lee this year.

I read that and thought you were talking about trading Lee THIS year (2009). If that’s what you meant, I’ll stick to my guns: there’s no way they can find out if Rondon is going to be a major league pitcher next year within the next few weeks. Carmona is a mystery — a few weeks more data aren’t going to tell us that he’s “back.” He needs to demonstrate consistency, the ability to adjust to what hitters are doing, the ability to take his bullpen stuff into actual major league games, etc. There are so many questions about him at this point that I wouldn’t be confident about him unless he’s pitched well for a sustained stretch of time AT THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL. Laffey is a little bit different, I suppose. He’s shown signs of doing well and was pitching very well before he got injured. If he returns on Wednesday and pitches well for several weeks, you might reasonably conclude that he’s a viable major league starting pitcher on whom you could rely for next year.

You’re right about 2010. I think whether or not we trade Lee will be affected far more by whether we’re in or out of the pennant race — as the trade of Sabathia was. If we’re in, Shapiro likely would keep Lee; if the younger pitchers are ALSO doing well, he’s even more likely to keep him under those circumstances, since that would mean we’d have a real chance of doing something in September and October (and he’d be inclined to go for it, rather than cutting his losses by trading Lee).