Tribe sends Betancourt to Rockies

TORONTO (AP) — Rafael Betancourt has watched teammates come and go during his tenure with the Cleveland Indians.

On Thursday, he was on the move.

The Cleveland Indians traded the reliable reliever to Colorado for minor league pitcher Connor Graham.

Betancourt, who has spent his entire seven-year career with Cleveland, learned of the deal following the Indians’ 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays.

“I was here for a long time with this team and I have a lot of good friends here, front office, coaches, players,” Betancourt said. “They’ve always been great to me. I can’t say anything bad about it.”

The Rockies are a game ahead of San Francisco for the NL wild card and nine games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the West and wanted to strengthen their bullpen.

Set-up man Manny Corpas is expected to undergo surgery today to remove bone chips in his right elbow. The operation could sideline him for the season although he hopes to return in September.

“We thought it was a good gamble to take in light of the situation,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said.

The Rockies also plan to promote right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, the organization’s top pitching prospect, from Double-A Tulsa, O’Dowd said. Chacin, who is expected to serve in a long-relief role, went 8-6 with a 3.14 ERA as a starter for the Drillers.

“We felt it was the appropriate time,” O’Dowd said. “He’s a very talented kid.”

Betancourt will serve as closer Huston Street’s set-up man.

“It’s time for me to leave and go there and keep pitching and keep playing, try to help the team win games,” Betancourt said. “It’s a sad moment for me right now but I have to be a professional and keep playing.”

In 29 appearances this season, Betancourt is 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA. The right-hander has given up 25 hits and struck out 32 in 302‚Ñ3 innings.

Betancourt has been primarily a set-up man since joining the Indians in 2003. He had a 1.47 ERA in 68 games when the Indians made the playoffs in 2007.