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A’s Interested In Lance Berkman

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 12, 2010 at 5:28pm CDT

The A's have been bidding, trading and claiming their way through the early stages of the offseason, and they're also considering a big free agent bat. Oakland has interest in Lance Berkman as a potential DH, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested earlier in the week that Berkman "can probably find 500 plate appearances in 2011 for around $5MM." The Astros won't be pursuing Berkman, but AL teams such as the Mariners, Rays, Blue Jays, Twins and Rangers could have some interest. The 34-year-old batted .248/.368/.413 for the Yankees and Astros last year, though he now struggles against left-handed pitching.

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Oakland Athletics Lance Berkman

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View Comments (59)

Comments

  1. silverslugger

    12 years ago

    Please let this happen! I would love seeing Lance in an A’s uniform!

    Reply
  2. not_brooks

    12 years ago

    With Vlad, Thome, Manny and Matsui all available, I have one question about this.

    Why?

    Reply
    • safari_punch

      12 years ago

      Switch hitter and can play 1B if required.

      Reply
      • Dave_Gershman

        12 years ago

        But can’t really hit anymore…

        In order, I’d like to see Carter, Matsui, and then Vlad.

        Reply
        • safari_punch

          12 years ago

          One bad year?

          Elvis can still get on base….and switch hit. Have to love the switch hitters.

        • Dave_Gershman

          12 years ago

          He really can’t swing the bat right handed though anymore. If they got E5 to platoon at DH with Berkman potentially, then I really like their DH platoon only if they got a 3B like Beltre or McGehee, but I don’t see Berkman as an everyday player anymore either way. Plus, you have Manny Ramirez and Hideko Matsui who will come cheaper, plus Chris Carter who is virtually getting paid nothing and finished the season hitting .318 and is in my opinion, in line for a breakout season and deserves a chance. Berkman wouldn’t be a bad signing, I just don’t think that he’s the best option or the cheapest option out there.

        • scatterbrian

          12 years ago

          No DH platoons! It’s a waste of roster space.

        • scatterbrian

          12 years ago

          also, McGehee and Encarnacion are no different defensively.

        • not_brooks

          12 years ago

          His OPS against righties in 2009 was a terrible .710.

          His OPS against righties in 2010 was a pathetic .517.

          He can still get on base against lefties, but he’s not much of a switch hitter any more.

        • Matt Mc

          12 years ago

          You’ve got that backwards.

    • Dave_Gershman

      12 years ago

      You forgot about Chris Carter.

      Reply
      • not_brooks

        12 years ago

        I did forget about Carter. The guy was a beast after he got his first hit under his belt: .342/.422/.605 in his final 13 games.

        Reply
    • scatterbrian

      12 years ago

      Right? Cust had a better season and is still cheaper. Plus, Barton played in 159 games last year, backing him up shouldn’t be that much of a priority.

      Reply
  3. Terry L

    12 years ago

    An Encarnacion/Berkman DH platoon? Both can also sub at their respective field positions, so it won’t seem like such a burden on the roster.

    Reply
  4. BleacherBumSF

    12 years ago

    the A’s should go after Manny

    he would attract more people to the stadium and he’s a better hitter than Berkman

    Reply
  5. asch

    12 years ago

    Well, the fact he can play 1b doesn’t mean anything, as Barton was pretty durable and should have won the GG at 1b this past year anyways.

    Reply
    • safari_punch

      12 years ago

      Barton can’t hit.

      Reply
      • asch

        12 years ago

        sure he can, but not like a 1b. Only like a 2b.

        Reply
      • Dave_Gershman

        12 years ago

        Barton can definetly hit, he can also get on base…

        Reply
        • safari_punch

          12 years ago

          Send him back to AAA where he belongs.

        • scatterbrian

          12 years ago

          You don’t really know what you’re talking about.

        • safari_punch

          12 years ago

          Don’t I?

          He’s not even as good as Lyle Overpaid and everyone thinks he stinks too. Why is he a delightful player? Because he’s cheap? On base skills don’t mean much when he can’t run to take advantage of getting on base and he can’t slug – well he is a slug.

          I’d take a chance on someone like Berkman bouncing back then I would in a 1B that never was.

        • not_brooks

          12 years ago

          So in one post, you argue for Lance Berkman, who is as close to done as any former power hitter, saying that he can still get on base. And then in this post, you say that Barton’s on base skills are meaningless.Which one is it?

        • not_brooks

          12 years ago

          So in one post, you argue for Lance Berkman, who is as close to done as any former power hitter, saying that he can still get on base. And then in this post, you say that Barton’s on base skills are meaningless.Which one is it?

        • not_brooks

          12 years ago

          Delightful is actually a nice adjective for Barton.

          30+ doubles, 100+ walks and elite level defense at first base, while unconventional, is delightful. Obviously, I’d prefer “dominant” or “monstrous” at first base, but I’ll take a delightful 25-year-old with room to improve over a 35-year-old with rapidly declining skills.

        • scatterbrian

          12 years ago

          this

        • scatterbrian

          12 years ago

          this

        • not_brooks

          12 years ago

          Delightful is actually a nice adjective for Barton.

          30+ doubles, 100+ walks and elite level defense at first base, while unconventional, is delightful. Obviously, I’d prefer “dominant” or “monstrous” at first base, but I’ll take a delightful 25-year-old with room to improve over a 35-year-old with rapidly declining skills.

        • Patrick

          12 years ago

          According to Fangraphs, Barton was the sixth most valuable 1st baseman by WAR, second in the AL to only Miguel Cabrera.

        • Matt Richards

          12 years ago

          WHY?

          He had the second best OBP on the team last year (.393) and the 9th best of any player in baseball.

        • Onewildman

          12 years ago

          Really? He led the AL in walks and his OBP% was top 10 in the AL. Additionally, he is a plus defender and he averaged nearly 5 pitches an at bat.

          Say what you will…but Daric Barton belongs in the majors.

      • Ferrariman

        12 years ago

        he led all american leaguers in walks and had an obp of .400 with a WAR of almost 5 and gold glove defense yeah, i think he’s ok…

        Reply
  6. GriffeyandSizemore

    12 years ago

    People are giving Berkman such a hard time just wait til next year i hope he proves everyone wrong and has a .850ops or higher.

    I’m ready for everyone to call me stupid haha.

    Reply
    • Ferrariman

      12 years ago

      he has to shed that baby fat first.

      Reply
  7. InLeylandWeTrust

    12 years ago

    I like what Oakland is doing here. Hopefully it doesn’t all blow up in their face ala Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, and Orlando Cabrera.

    Reply
    • GriffeyandSizemore

      12 years ago

      Never put Orlando Cabrera in the same sentence as Giambi and Holliday again please he isn’t very comparable.

      Reply
      • Dave_Gershman

        12 years ago

        The reason he put them in the same sentence is because Billy Beane likes picking up cheap players and flipping them mid-season for Holliday. In the 08-09 off-season he picked up those 3 and flipped two of them mid-season for what is now Tyler Ladendorf, Shane Peterson, Michael Taylor, and Clayton Mortensen.

        Reply
        • Ferrariman

          12 years ago

          man, beane got screwed. he would have been better off letting holliday walk and get 2 draft picks. of course at the time, it was Wallace and not Taylor and they wouldn’t have known Taylor was gonna have a bad season.

        • Dave_Gershman

          12 years ago

          If you go back though, they shouldn’t even acquired holliday in the first place. There is this fella named Cargo.

        • not_brooks

          12 years ago

          But what would Cargo and his .775 away OPS look like in a pitcher’s park in the AL?

      • InLeylandWeTrust

        12 years ago

        Those 3 were added in the same season hoping to boost offensive performance for the club. All 3, including Cabrera, performed poorly.

        Reply
    • GriffeyandSizemore

      12 years ago

      But i also like what they are doing.

      Reply
  8. rfffr

    12 years ago

    I think Berkman would choose the option to play first so the Chicago teams, Washington and Arizona make the most sense.

    Reply
    • Durf

      12 years ago

      Yeah, I’m baffled that neither Chicago team are listed…

      Reply
  9. RepOak

    12 years ago

    I would like berkman in a A’s uni. He would fit in. But I also think they would still need a right handed bat. Chris Carter? Just keep Barton at 1st. He was the real winner of the gold glove this year.

    Reply
  10. penpaper

    12 years ago

    Why bother getting a big bat like Manny or Vlad in that park? I know both of those guys get on base at a respectable rate but if the intention is to get someone to get on base, I’ll pick Puma before those two. Now if they want to attract a crowd, Manny is definitely the man.

    I just wonder what a guy like that will do to a clubhouse.

    Reply
    • G D

      12 years ago

      “I just wonder what a guy like that will do to a clubhouse.”

      Nothing, just so long as you pay him about four times what he’s worth.

      Reply
  11. Henry Castellanos

    12 years ago

    I’d love Berkman on the A’s. But is that really enough? The A’s need a middle-of-the-order bat and there are better options on the market. Like Jim Thome or Vladimir Guerrero or Hideki Matsui.

    Reply
  12. Onewildman

    12 years ago

    Look for the A’s to go hard after Arizona’s 3B Mark Reynolds. The A’s need right handed pop and Reynolds can provide that. Despite huge strikeout numbers Reynolds would still be an upgrade offensively and a slight downgrade defensively.

    Since the A’s and DBacks are very familiar I can see a deal before spring.

    Another possiblity would be to get 1B Adam LaRoche from the DBacks. LaRoche is cheap (6 mil) and is a 20 HR/85 RBI with a plus glove.

    Reply
  13. Onewildman

    12 years ago

    Give Beane credit … he said he would be active. And here early on they have been pretty busy.

    Reply
  14. baycommuter

    12 years ago

    I like a Berkman/Encarnacion platoon, but the roster would then contain 15 non-pitchers and they usually only have 13. (Suzuki, Barton, Ellis, Pennington, Kouz or another 3B, De Jesus, Crisp, Sweeney, Berkman, Encarnacion) plus backup catcher, Rosales, Davis, Jackson, Carter.) Jackson’s probably gone under that scenario, but there’s still one to go. That seems to indicate they’re thinking of Encarnacion as a third baseman, then Berkman and Carter could platoon and Carter could pick up some more ABs in the OF.

    Reply
  15. Joe

    12 years ago

    This is more like it. Berkman is in line for a nice comeback, he’ll be cheap and he’s way more dependable than Manny.

    Reply
  16. Randy_McWeen

    12 years ago

    this is a freakin perfect fit…even though berkman has always bugged me with his unorthodox style, he would be a great fit for this team…i dont care what his numbers were last year…the dude can still hit and he’d be playing everyday…also, who does everybody think kouz will be traded to?

    Reply
    • Patrick

      12 years ago

      I’d bet Kouz stays and Encarnacion is packaged. The A’s – mainly Cahill, need Kouz’ defense.

      Reply
  17. yankee2195

    12 years ago

    who dont the a’s want? lol

    Reply
    • Garrett Akol

      12 years ago

      Jack Cust

      Reply
      • yankee2195

        12 years ago

        true that, but he grew up in the area around where i live soo im still rooting for him to have a good career hopefully

        Reply
      • yankee2195

        12 years ago

        true that, but he grew up in the area around where i live soo im still rooting for him to have a good career hopefully

        Reply
    • Garrett Akol

      12 years ago

      Jack Cust

      Reply

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