Headlines

  • Royals, Hunter Dozier Agree To Four-Year Extension
  • Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal
  • Kelvin Herrera Announces Retirement
  • Braves Extend Brian Snitker
  • Yankees Sign Justin Wilson
  • Braves Sign Jake Lamb
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Berkman Unsure If He’ll Play After Contract Expires

By Mike Axisa | September 5, 2009 at 10:23am CDT

Astros first baseman Lance Berkman has been one of the best, if not most unheralded sluggers of the last decade. Since his first full season in 2000, a typical season for Fat Elvis has consisted of a .301/.414/.558 batting line with over 30 homers and 100 RBI. After slumping big time this April (.162/.326/.392), he's managed to rebound and is hitting .300/.419/.522 since May 1st.

But now, as MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports, the 33-yr old first baseman is unsure if he'll play after his contract expires next year. Berkman has one more season left on the six year, $85MM contract he signed prior to the 2005 season, but the team holds a $15MM option for his services in 2011. If the option is declined, they'll pay him a $2MM buyout.

Here's Berkman's quotes from McTaggart's article:

"I'm going to play next year because I'm under contract, and if they pick up the option, we'll see where I'm at after that year," he said. "That's kind of how I'm viewing it."

"I don't think that's fair to the team or to me," he said. "If I'm not going to perform a level I'm comfortable with, I'm not going to play. I'm going to play next year because I'm obligated to play. I'm going to give as a good of an effort as I can, and see what happens. If I have a good year and they pick the option up, I'll be committed for another year.

"I don't want to hang around. I don't want to hamstring the organization, and I don't want to take away from my family and things like that. If I'm not as productive as I want to be, I'll take it to the house."

Thanks to the April slump, Berkman is hitting a career low .272 and is slugging under .510 for the first time in his career. Most players would consider .272/.400/.496 with 18 homers and a 79/81 K/BB ratio a career year. For Berkman, it's enough to consider hanging up the spikes.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Houston Astros Lance Berkman

Rockies Release Russ Ortiz
Main
Giants Did Not Discuss Trade For Hoffman
0 comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Royals, Hunter Dozier Agree To Four-Year Extension

    Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal

    Kelvin Herrera Announces Retirement

    Braves Extend Brian Snitker

    Yankees Sign Justin Wilson

    Braves Sign Jake Lamb

    Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland

    Yankees Re-Sign Brett Gardner

    Giants To Sign Jake McGee

    Mariners CEO Kevin Mather Resigns

    Recent

    Royals, Hunter Dozier Agree To Four-Year Extension

    Quick Hits: Pujols, Blue Jays, Kennedy, Santana

    Royals, Hunter Dozier In “Serious” Extension Negotiations

    Minor MLB Transactions: 2/27/21

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Astros Claim Robel Garcia

    Red Sox Acquire Zach Bryant From Cubs

    Quick Hits: Yankees, Cardinals, Diamondbacks

    MLBTR Poll: Forecasting The Yankees Rotation

    COVID Notes: Carlos Carrasco, Kevin Plawecki

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • Jackie Bradley Jr. Rumors
    • Jake Odorizzi Rumors
    • Taijuan Walker Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version