Lance Berkman managed to stay off the disabled list despite injuring his knee last week, but the 37-year-old designated hitter tweaked his hip running to first base Saturday and the Rangers placed him on the shelf.
Rangers manager Ron Washington indicated that the combination of injuries gave Berkman little chance to be productive, so the team is hoping the time off is better than “putting a band aid on this and putting a band aid on that.”
Berkman got off to a strong start after signing a one-year, $11 million deal with the Rangers, but has hit just .176 in 20 games since June 1 while also taking quite a bit of time off.
And now the Rangers have Manny Ramirez playing at Triple-A as a potential designated hitter alternative.
