General manager Brian Cashman visited with Cliff Lee yesterday in the free agent’s Arkansas home but didn’t bring the Yankees’ biggest weapon: the Steinbrenner family checkbook.The article goes on to mention that these negotiations will most likely come down to which team will give him the most years, and many believe that team will be the Yankees because of how desperate they are for a starter.
Cashman spent several hours with Lee, Lee’s wife Kristen and agent Darek Braunecker, but no financial offers were exchanged, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Instead, Braunecker offered an open invitation for Lee to go to New York or for Cashman to return Arkansas to meet, and Cashman saw the value of face time and a personal touch within a negotiation that is not expected to wrap up quickly. It is believed the Yankees were the first team granted such a visit.
The Yankees, in fact, believe Lee will not make a decision before the Winter Meetings, which run Dec. 6-9 in Orlando.
How many years would you feel comfortable giving Lee?