Jon Heyman is reporting (via Twitter) Lance Berkman has been traded to the New York Yankees. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter), the Yankees will send pitcher Mark Melancon and second baseman Jimmy Paredes to Houston.
The Yankees Get
It has been a disappointing season for Berkman, hitting .245 with 13 HR, 49 RBI and 39 R. He has suffered from some below average luck, with a BABIP of .279, his lowest mark since seeing just 93 AB in 1999. His strikeouts are also at a career high, though it’s not a huge regression (23.5% strikeout rate vs. a career mark of 20.2%).
The 34-year old underwent knee surgery in spring training, costing him the first few weeks of the season. It certainly is possible that it has affected his play, so no longer having to ensure the grind of playing nine innings in the field could be extremely advantageous.
He has started to flash the power lately, with 6 HR in July.
Moving into a stacked lineup in a hitter’s friendly park certainly could help his numbers across the board. Without much speed and likely sliding into the sixth or seventh spot in the lineup, the runs are not going to increase by much, if at all. Besides that, this seems like a perfect fit for him. While he’s not likely to be the Berkman of old, he easily should be considered a usable option in all formats.
The short porch in left should help his recent power surge. He’ll have less pressure on him, and with better luck the average should come around. In that lineup, he should have plenty of chances to drive in runs.
Again, he’s not likely to be elite, but this deal certainly gives him a boost in value.
The Astros Get
Paredes is 21-years old and currently playing at Single-A. In 404 AB he’s hitting .282 with 5 HR, 48 RBI, 59 R and 36 SB. There’s no questioning his speed, but his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a terrible 82-to-18. He was undrafted out of the Dominican Republic and had just 18 BBs in 366 AB the prior two seasons. He needs to improve on that aspect of his game in order to have any success.
Melancon has seen time in the major leagues the past two seasons, but is a middle reliever who likely won’t see time closing games. At Triple-A this season he has a 3.67 ERA and 58 Ks over 56.0 innings. His problem this year is walks, with 31 this season, though that has not been a problem in previous seasons. He’s not likely to hold value in fantasy formats.
Seems like a poor return for Berkman, but they do clear some money off the books (though they did send some money to the Yankees as part of the trade). What are your thoughts?
Make sure to check out our trade deadline analysis:
- Yunel Escober for Alex Gonzalez
- Alberto Callaspo traded to the Angels
- Dan Haren traded to the Angels
- Jhonny Peralta to the Tigers
- Scott Podsednik to the Dodgers
- Roy Oswalt to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and 2 minor leaguers
- Jorge Cantu to the Rangers
- Miguel Tejada to the Padres
- Matt Capps to the Twins for Wilson Ramos
- Edwin Jackson to the White Sox
- Christian Guzman to the Rangers
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