Report: Lance Berkman has a torn ACL, may consider retirement

This is bad news and, if confirmed today, could spell the end of Lance Berkman’s career.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that the Cardinals’ “early diagnosis” is that Lance Berkman has suffered a torn ACL. An MRI will be performed today to confirm.

Berkman was injured on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium while stretching for a throw at first base. He had to be helped off the field. Berkman told reporters yesterday that, if indeed he has torn his ACL, he may very well retire:

“If I’ve re-torn my ACL or something like that, I’d certainly get it fixed but you don’t know how psychologically you’re going to come back from something like that,” Berkman said. “I’m not talking from the standpoint of being scared of hurting it again. I’m talking about doing everything it takes to come back and play again at an elite level. I think that’s a legitimate question I’m going to have to answer if, in fact, it turns out to be something more serious than we hope that it is.”

This would obviously be a major blow to the Cardinals who, in letting Albert Pujols walk in free agency, had hoped to get another strong season out of Berkman at first base in his absence. Of course, the potential replacements are all promising too: now it’s up to some combination of Allen Craig, prospect Matt Adams and Matt Carpenter.