Official rumor, unofficial trade: Lance Berkman is a New York Yankee

It appears as though a Lance Berkman to New York trade is all but done. The biscuit is cooked and all they need to do is spread the butter.

As a Yankees fan, I am PUMPED about this trade. We are reportedly not giving up any significant “prospects” up to acquire Berkman, in exchange for eating his remaining salary. He will strictly be a two (err three) month rental, meaning the Yankees will buy him out for $2mil after the season and receive a draft pick- Berkman is a type B free agent- after he declines their arbitration offer.

Berkman is not the hitter he once was. He has been on the decline for the past couple seasons and it shouldn’t come as a surprise since he is getting up their in age. But he still has a line (BA/OBP/SLG/wOBA/wRC+) of .245/.372/.436/.356/123. A far cry from his prime, but a solid addition to any teams lineup.

In 214 more PA, ZiPS believe his line will be .268/.386/.486/.383. I will gladly welcome that production from our DH spot, which has been a rotation of Juan Miranda, Marcus Thames, Colin Curtis, and occasionally Jorge Posada. Berkman provides a relatively big upgrade in our DH spot, so counting the playoffs, lets assume he produces 1 WAR as a Yankee. That may be optimistic since his value will be limited as a DH compared to a first baseman, but I am including October along with August and September. So he will produce $4mil-$5mil in value (depending on how much you value his upgrade over the current DH rotation the Yankees have). He will be about $5mil for the rest of the season, and $2mil when he is bought out. The Yankees will also receive a compensation pick once Berkman leaves. So Lance Berkman’s total net value to New York is about $0.0. That might seem bad for New York, but that’s only because he is being paid a decent amount for only three months of work. But as stated, he will produce and that is what makes Berkman a good addition.

Meanwhile, Ken Davidoff says the Astros will get a no-name prospect. That makes sense Berkman has a break even net value. So the Astros shouldn’t really expect anybody of worth in return. Rather, Houston should be glad they could unload his contract from the payroll.

Overall, it’s a win-win and I am doing circles in my mother’s basement.

UPDATE: It turns out Houston will pretty much pick up the contract. LOL, what a deal for New York. They just used Houston as toilet paper to wipe their rich ass.

UPDATE II: Scratch that, Houston will be getting Mark Melancon. This disappoints me. He is a very good reliever who should have been in the Bronx this season (not Chan Ho Park). But he is just a reliever, so it doesn’t change things. Still a good trade for New York. And with their compensation pick, they should be able to draft a player that will one day soon be worth or more than Melancon.

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Tags: Colin Curtis, Houston Astros, Jorge Posada, Juan Miranda, Lance Berkman, Marcus Thames, Mark Melancon, New York Yankees

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