The Royals have requested unconditional release waivers on infielder Yuniesky Betancourt, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports.

Betancourt hit just .228/.256/.400 for the season, marking his fifth consecutive season with a sub-.700 OPS. Despite coming over from Cuba with a reputation as a fine defensive player, Betancourt lost a step in recent years, and advanced defensive metrics find him consistently one of the worst shortstops in baseball. As a result, 2012 was also Betancourt's fifth consecutive season below replacement level according to Baseball-Reference.com, with an astonishing -6.1 WAR over that time frame.

Performance issues were not helped in Kansas City by his attitude, C. Trent Rosencrans reported earlier this month. The combination of on-field and off-field issues made Betancourt's release a no-brainer for the Royals.

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