Lance Berkman Trade Rumors: 5 Reasons He Cannot Save Your Team

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Lance Berkman might be the Comeback Player of the Year in the National League. His bat is one huge reason the St. Louis Cardinals stayed in contention for as long as they did this season, and now that he has cleared waivers, his name has been connected to virtually every contender in need of a bat.

Here's the problem: Berkman cannot save your team.

He cannot make the Cleveland Indians viable again in the AL Central, and he cannot make the Detroit Tigers real World Series contenders.

No matter who your team is, Berkman might help, but he will not save them. Here are five reasons why.

1. His Defense

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Years ago, the Houston Astros stuck Berkman in center field for a year, desperate to get his bat in the lineup while Jeff Bagwell was still holding down first base. It was not a total disaster; in fact, Berkman made a highlight-reel catch that has defined his defensive reputation nine years since.

Somehow, though, he has since added weight and moved to (primarily) first base—and people still perceive Berkman as an acceptable defender.

He isn't, especially in the outfield.

Berkman has cost the Cardinals anywhere from three to 11 runs this season in right field and at first base, depending upon which set of numbers one consults.

He's a decent DH option for teams like Chicago, Detroit and Texas, but that's it. Once Adrian Beltre returns to the Rangers, Berkman's would-be fit will be gone, as Michael Young will have to become the primary DH again.

2. Painful Transition

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Berkman has been good this season. That would be true no matter where he played.

But the magnitude of his improvement relative to 2010 (when his OPS was a middling .781) is partially a product of batting in the NL Central all year and getting to face the Astros instead of the Cardinals.

Berkman's OPS against teams with winning percentages south of .500 is a sturdy 1.079; against good clubs, that number tumbles to .830. Against the Astros, he has clubbed five home runs and posted an OPS north of 1.500. Last year, after moving to the Yanks, Berkman's OPS was just .707.

3. He's 35 Years Old

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At 35, Berkman currently leads the NL in adjusted OPS+. The last player to lead either league in that category at 35 years old was Barry Bonds. The last to lead at 34 was Billy Williams in the 1972 NL.

To buy that Berkman will continue at this pace, then one must accept that he is either of the following:

 

1. On steroids, but magically immune to its physical effects (including added strength and a better physique).

2. The best hitter of his age since Billy Williams, an infinitely more athletic, true outfielder who played 40 years ago.

 

I don't buy into either scenario, so regression is coming to Berkman as surely as the mail. It's all a matter of when and to what degree.

4. Bad-Bodied Sluggers

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Berkman has never been a physical specimen. Even in his more svelte iterations, he was not an athletically-built human being. He's bigger around the middle and through the thighs than through the chest and shoulders, and he looks a bit like a penguin, even after dropping some weight last winter.

The track record for that kind of (non-)athlete is not pretty.

At age 35, not many hold up well as the season progresses. I won't use the "D" word (okay, for clarity's sake, the word is "Dunn"), because it hardly applies here.

But Berkman is in danger of breakdown at any moment, whether by injury or by skill degradation.

5. He's Just One Man

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Jose Bautista is better than Lance Berkman. He leads MLB in WAR and should cruise to that title. Bautista has ridiculous power, great patience and is a better athlete/defender than Berkman.

But if your team acquired Bautista today, he might net you one or two more wins before the season ends.

It's easy to forget that, with 30 games remaining, there is hardly any player in the game who can truly change a team's fortunes in a playoff race unless that race is a dead-heat when he enters. In such a short stretch, it's exceedingly difficult to find an individual player who can change the course of the contest.

If you're not October-bound right now, adding Lance Berkman is not likely to change that fact.