Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle writes that Astros general manager Ed Wade is not interested in signing Barry Bonds as a replacement for the injured Carlos Lee. Manager Cecil Cooper echoed the statement. Lance Berkman, however, would like to have Bonds as a teammate:
"That would certainly sell tickets. I’d love to have him on the team. I think he would be great if he could perform at a level we’re accustomed to seeing. If he’ll play for the minimum (league salary), I would certainly take a flier on that."
Wade has not ruled out acquiring another outfielder, though he doesn’t feel that it is an absolutely necessary move. For his part, Bonds insists he’s not retired.
Making a move for an outfielder doesn’t seem entirely logical, with Houston being eight games out of the wild card race in the National League, but we’ve seen them be surprisingly aggressive in July, making acquisitions of both Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins.
