First there was this from Jon Heyman:
And then this from T.R. Sullivan:
Cliff Lee is going to the Philadelphia Phillies, industry sources said Monday night. The Rangers were told Monday night that Lee is going to the Phillies, It is a done deal
The Phillies front four in their rotation is now Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. Might as well start fitting them for those rings.
(UPDATE) Jerry Crasnick is now reporting that the deal is for five years "with an 'easily reachable' vesting option for a sixth year." He's not sure about the money but the deal is worth more than $100 million. Apparently, the deal the Yankees offered him was a six-year deal worth $138 million, with a seventh-year player option for an another $16 million for a total of seven years and $154 million. So he left around $50 million on the table...... WOW.
(ANOTHER UPDATE) Heyman updates the contract figures:
lee received about $115 mil for 5 years plus 6th yr vesting option w/ makeable incentives. thats slightly higher AAV than yankees offer(AND ANOTHER) According to Tim Brown, the Rangers, not the Yankees were the highest bidders for Lee. With a vesting option, they would have paid Lee $161 million.
