Lance Berkman gave his blessing to be traded to the Yankees and, unless he changes his mind today, the club will add the switch-hitter to their already strong lineup.
And the Yankees didn’t stop there. They also acquired outfielder Austin Kearns last night from the Indians for a player to be named later.
“[Kearns] is an experienced right-handed bat with power,” manager Joe Girardi, declining to comment on Berkman.
The Yankees also still were trying to obtain a stronger backup infielder to spell Alex Rodriguez before today’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.
Berkman, who has 10-and-5 rights (10 years in the league and at least five with his current team) under the basic agreement between MLB and the Players Association, agreed yesterday to waive his no-trade clause and join the Yankees. He had refused to waive those rights to go to the White Sox, who also had worked out a deal for the veteran
As a technicality of the 10-and-5 rules, there is an automatic 24-hour window during which Berkman could change his mind. However, friends of his insist he is excited to join the Yankees, with whom he will be a switch-hitting designated hitter and serve as Mark Teixeira’s backup at first base.
To obtain Berkman, the Yankees surrendered Triple-A reliever Mark Melancon and Low-A infielder Jimmy Paredes. The Yankees do not consider either among their top 10 prospects, and have felt Paredes’ defense is weak enough that he ultimately will have to move to the outfield. In addition, the Astros agreed to pay $4 million of the $7.5 million Berkman is due between his 2010 salary, which has about $5.5M remaining, and the $2M buyout on his 2011 option.
As part of the deal, the $15 million 2011 option moved from complete control of the team to a mutual option. However, that is a formality. The Yankees have no intention of picking up the option. They obtained Berkman to aid them in their stretch run, help they need more than ever with their AL East lead down to one game over the Rays after last night’s 3-2 loss at Tropicana Field.
The trade was completed at roughly 1:30 p.m. yesterday, which means it can be announced at about that time today. That means Berkman should be in the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay.
The Yankees had tried to obtain Adam Dunn from Washington, but were unable to find a suitable match to send to the Nationals. Berkman became their second choice to fill the full-time DH spot that was held by fragile Nick Johnson at the start of the season.
After the Astros’ 5-0 win over the Brewers last night in Houston, rookie Chris Johnson embraced Berkman.
“It’s really an odd feeling seeing his locker cleaned out,” Johnson said. “He came up and jumped on my back and gave me a hug and said, ‘Keep up the good work’ and, ‘Good luck.’ It was weird.”
Berkman comes with problems. The 34-year-old is in the midst of the worst season of his 12-year career, hitting .245 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs. Although he is a switch-hitter, he was batting .188 against southpaws with one homer in 64 at-bats. Also, Berkman has been terrible on the road this year, hitting .194 away from Minute Maid Park.
The problems don’t end there: Berkman is playing in the easiest division in the majors and would be asked to come to the AL East. He has never played anywhere other than with Houston.
However, the Yanks still see him as an upgrade over Colin Curtis, who played DH last night and went 0-for-3. Berkman is playoff-tested and the Yankees believe his problems earlier this year were mainly injury related. Berkman has six homers in his last 64 at-bats.
“The bat speed is starting to come,” a scout who watched Berkman said this week. “It’s getting there, especially from the left side.”
He also is the kind of patient hitter the Yankees always like and they would be hoping that the intensity of a championship hunt would energize him for a strong finish.
Additional reporting by the
Associated Press