Berkman thinks David Freese could be $200 million player

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman thinks third baseman David Freese has the skills to be a $200 million player someday. - Photo courtesy of Getty Images

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman is injured with a calf strain and is considered day-to-day by the club.  Nobody is certain how long Berkman may be out of the lineup, but many believe that he will not miss too much time.

While Berkman sits for a couple of days resting the calf, his mouth never rests. 

Always opinionated and rarely missing an opportunity to be heard and just one week after bashing the Miami Marlins new stadium, Berkman was at it again.  This time, Berkman was positively talking about his teammate David Freese.

Berkman thinks highly of Freese and thinks Freese could garner the salary of a Joey Votto some day.  Here is what he told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.

Lance Berkman on David Freese: "If you’re looking for your next $200M contract, he’s got a chance. He’s that kind of player." #STLCards
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) April 11, 2012

Berkman's praise of Freese's play is warranted.  The third baseman has started the season red hot for the Cardinals, picking up right where he left off from last year's World Series Championship.  Freese has three home runs, ten RBI's, and a .429 average through seven Cardinals games. 

But Berkman may be getting a bit ahead of himself this time with his comments.  Freese has never played more than 100 games in a single season at the Major League level and is already 28 years old.  Before the Cardinals give him $200 million, Freese must be able to prove he can stay healthy for an entire season.

Additionally, nobody else will have a chance to give Freese that type of money anytime soon  Freese isn't even arbitration eligible until after the 2013 season and can not become a free agent until 2016.

Berkman was likely trying to do two things at once when making his comments to Castrovince.  It sounded like Berkman wanted to tip his cap to Freese, who has been unbelievable to start the season for the Cardinals.  But Berkman also was likely being sarcastic and referencing some of the absurd amount of money being thrown around MLB these days.

Either way, Berkman's mouth never rests and will continue to be source of entertainment throughout 2012.