First article with H4TV

I recently became a partner with H4TV, and I will be writing articles for them as well as on here. I will focus on strictly the Mets here, whereas on H4TV I am going to be writing about all 32 MLB teams. I am going to still publish my other articles on here in case you want to check them out, so here is my first article. (By the way I am going to organize these in a folder to make it easier to access.) 

Was signing Lance Berkman the right move for the Rangers?

When Josh Hamilton signed with the Angels, many knew that the Rangers would attempt to bring in one (or several) players to replace his production. Hamilton was an icon in Texas, and the Rangers’ front office knew letting him leave, especially to the division rival Angels, was not going to be taken well by the fans. Texas also traded away franchise icon Michael Young to the Phillies, a move that was questioned by many including myself. The Rangers went from arguably the most dominant team in the American League to a possible 2nd place team in the American League West. They have actually made a few low risk signings this off-season, like picking up Joakim Soria, A.J. Pierzynski, and others. Well, today, they signed another free agent whose value is dead at the moment. That player is Lance Berkman, and they gave him quite a bit of money to play in Arlington next season. They signed him to a one year deal worth $10 million with a vesting option for the 2014 season. It is a risky signing, considering the injury issues from the past, and Berkman’s desire to play the game right now, or lack thereof.

I’m not saying that Berkman isn’t motivated at this stage of his career, but he has contemplated retirement for many months now, and I am wondering how many more years he has left in him. That is why I believe the Rangers completely overpaid for Berkman here, and that this move may not pan out. A move like this just seems like a desperate one from my view, and I believe that plenty of Rangers fans out there would agree with me. Now, if it was a one year deal worth let’s say, $3-4 million, I’d say that the risk is worth it, but at $10 million I just feel like the Rangers are wasting their money.

I know that we all said Berkman was done after the 2010 season, but he then went on to have an incredible season with the 2011 World Series Champion Cardinals, so perhaps it is not time to write him off just yet. I think that it is a great move from Berkman’s standpoint, because like I mentioned before hitting in Texas will definitely boost your numbers, and value for that matter.

I wonder what this means for Mike Olt, the highly coveted corner infielder/outfielder prospect who is borderline major league ready. He has put up respectable minor league numbers, and the organization thinks very highly of him, and I would imagine that Berkman would block him on the depth chart if he ends up at first base. From what I hear, Olt is a below-average defender out in the outfielder, and with Nelson Cruz in right and David Murphy in left, perhaps the outfield is not the right career choice right now. The whole reason as to why I bring up Olt here really is because I think this will hold back his development by another year at least, and for a team who just lost a huge piece of their lineup, I don’t know if that is the right thing to do.

To conclude all of this, I hope that Berkman has success with the Rangers in 2013, but the reality is he is breaking down physically and got drastically overpaid here. Could he still have a rebound season? Of-course, that is why there is the Comeback Player of the Year award. However, at this stage in his career, it is likely that he does not live up to the money he is making.