The Texas Rangers have made designated hitter and first baseman Lance Berkman a free agent.
The team announced Thursday that they declined an option to retain the 37-year-old Texan for the 2014 season.
Berkman batted .242 with six home runs and 34 RBIs over 73 games with the Rangers in 2013, his only season with the team. He looked like a pretty solid pick-up for the team during the first six weeks of the season, but things changed in mid-May after he tweaked his surgically repaired knee getting off of the team plane.
Had the Rangers kept Berkman, it would have cost the team more than $12 million. To let him go only cost them $1 million.
The six-time All-Star played only 32 games for St. Louis in 2012, when he dealt with a strained left calf and had two operations on his right knee. He hit .301 in 2011 for the Cardinals, who won the World Series that season over Texas.
Berkman has been close to retirement for the last two seasons. At this point, it's unclear whether he'll sign with another team.
