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.
silverslugger
Please let this happen! I would love seeing Lance in an A’s uniform!
not_brooks
With Vlad, Thome, Manny and Matsui all available, I have one question about this.
Why?
safari_punch
Switch hitter and can play 1B if required.
Dave_Gershman
But can’t really hit anymore…
In order, I’d like to see Carter, Matsui, and then Vlad.
safari_punch
One bad year?
Elvis can still get on base….and switch hit. Have to love the switch hitters.
Dave_Gershman
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
No DH platoons! It’s a waste of roster space.
scatterbrian
also, McGehee and Encarnacion are no different defensively.
not_brooks
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
You’ve got that backwards.
Dave_Gershman
You forgot about Chris Carter.
not_brooks
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.
scatterbrian
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.
Terry L
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.
BleacherBumSF
the A’s should go after Manny
he would attract more people to the stadium and he’s a better hitter than Berkman
asch
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.
safari_punch
Barton can’t hit.
asch
sure he can, but not like a 1b. Only like a 2b.
Dave_Gershman
Barton can definetly hit, he can also get on base…
safari_punch
Send him back to AAA where he belongs.
scatterbrian
You don’t really know what you’re talking about.
safari_punch
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
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
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
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
this
scatterbrian
this
not_brooks
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
According to Fangraphs, Barton was the sixth most valuable 1st baseman by WAR, second in the AL to only Miguel Cabrera.
Matt Richards
WHY?
He had the second best OBP on the team last year (.393) and the 9th best of any player in baseball.
Onewildman
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
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…
GriffeyandSizemore
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.
Ferrariman
he has to shed that baby fat first.
InLeylandWeTrust
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.
GriffeyandSizemore
Never put Orlando Cabrera in the same sentence as Giambi and Holliday again please he isn’t very comparable.
Dave_Gershman
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.
Ferrariman
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
If you go back though, they shouldn’t even acquired holliday in the first place. There is this fella named Cargo.
not_brooks
But what would Cargo and his .775 away OPS look like in a pitcher’s park in the AL?
InLeylandWeTrust
Those 3 were added in the same season hoping to boost offensive performance for the club. All 3, including Cabrera, performed poorly.
GriffeyandSizemore
But i also like what they are doing.
rfffr
I think Berkman would choose the option to play first so the Chicago teams, Washington and Arizona make the most sense.
Durf
Yeah, I’m baffled that neither Chicago team are listed…
RepOak
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.
penpaper
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.
G D
“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.
Henry Castellanos
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.
Onewildman
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.
Onewildman
Give Beane credit … he said he would be active. And here early on they have been pretty busy.
baycommuter
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.
Joe
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.
Randy_McWeen
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?
Patrick
I’d bet Kouz stays and Encarnacion is packaged. The A’s – mainly Cahill, need Kouz’ defense.
yankee2195
who dont the a’s want? lol
Garrett Akol
Jack Cust
yankee2195
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
yankee2195
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
Garrett Akol
Jack Cust