Phillies Place Cliff Lee on Waivers

Here's more from MLB Trade Rumors:

The Phillies were expected to waive Lee this month, when waivers are revocable. Teams routinely place high-profile players on waivers in August to determine other teams' interest...

Teams have two business days to claim players off of waivers, which suggests Lee hit the waiver wire yesterday, when the August waiver period opened. If Lee clears waivers, the Phillies might be able to trade him. Lee can block trades to 21 teams including the Diamondbacks. The Yankees, Braves and Marlins are not on his no-trade list, however.

The money owed to Lee is crazy over the remainder of his contract -- he's making $21.5MM this year, and with get $25MM a year from 2013-15, along with a $27.5MM vesting option ($12.5MM buyout) in 2016.

A couple weeks ago I wanted nothing to do with Lee and for the most part I still feel the same way. But with the Yankees being one of the teams he can be traded to, their recent struggles and tough month of August ahead of them, I felt it was at least worth passing this info along.

If Lee clears waivers, and he probably will, don't be surprised to start reading reports that the Yankees are at least interested. Also, with Philly clearly wanting to get rid of that contract maybe the price tag won't be as high as some would have expected.

Gammons Says Cliff Lee Might Be An Option

Oh no, not this again.

Here's the story from Jon Lane:

During his weekly Thursday spot for Sports Radio WIP in Philadelphia, MLB Network’s Peter Gammons suggested that the Phillies, due to their last-place standing and the changes in compensation for free agents, may explore getting into an area where they can sign pending FA Cole Hamels and trade Cliff Lee, who turns 34 next month and signed through 2015 with an option for 2016.

If that were the case, Gammons said a big-market team would go for Lee in a hurry, and one of those teams could be the Yankees. Ironically, the Yankees were this-close to trading for Lee in 2010 before the Mariners chose to do business with the Rangers. That winter, Lee turned down the Yankees’ seven-year, $148 million offer for five and $120M in Philadelphia, a place he claimed he never wanted to leave. (Lee was traded from the Phillies to the M’s in December 2009).

.... The Yankees have professed fiscal responsibility and are aiming for a payroll under $189 million by 2014. Lee will cost a contender top prospects and the acceptance of the left-hander’s contract. That along with Brian Cashman’s insistence he’s not looking to do anything big by the July 31 trade deadline would put the Yankees out of play.

Or would it?

“The Yankees can say all they want that they won't trade,” Gammons said. “I do think it's not exactly in Brian Cashman’s DNA to trade young players, but it's different when you're Cliff Lee. I think there's a possibility. I really do. I think (the Phillies) can get more for Cliff Lee than for Cole Hamels.”

Even though Lee isn't the same pitcher he's been in recent years, there is little doubt in my mind that the addition of Cliff Lee (or Hamels for that matter) would easily favorites to win it all. However, I think we all became pretty sick of Cliff Lee, and all the talk about him coming here, when he decided to sign with the Phillies instead of signing with the Yanks a couple off-seasons ago.

"I never wanted to leave [Philly] in the first place," Lee said. "To get an opportunity to come back and be part of this team and this pitching rotation is going to be something that's historic, I believe."

So Cliff, how's that working out for you?

Maybe I'm just an ass, but part of me would much rather watch him rot with those last-place Phillies than come here and succeed.

What about you?

Lee to Sign With the Phillies

And the terrible offseason for the Yankees continues...

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

Clearly, this is bad news for the Yankees, Rangers, the entire National League, well pretty much for everyone besides the freaking Red Sox.

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.

Summing Up Today's Cliff Lee Nonsense

You may have noticed there hasn't been any Cliff Lee posts today.

Sorry about that, but the news being thrown out at us today was crap and I felt no need to post three or four different posts about "mystery teams", Lee's indecision and whatnot. Instead, here's a summary:

“Dude, I got no idea,” he said. “In terms of when are they going to make a decision, when they do, the whole world will know.”

Those were Brian Cashman's words to Chad Jennings earlier today when asked about Lee.

As for that mystery team, it appears, at least according to Joel Sherman (and others), could be the Phillies.

There is a lot of buzz on the Phillies. I have it on strong authority that Phillie officials loved Lee and he loved playing there (that bodes well, for what it is worth, Lee being comfortable in a large, northeast city). The Phillies have shed a lot of money this offseason (Werth, Jamie Moyer, J.C. Romero) without doing anything significant.

On the surface it does not seem vital to add another high-end starter when the Phils already have Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. But the presence of Lee would give them arguably one of the best rotations ever. What if they were, for example, able to trade most of the salaries of either Raul Ibanez or Joe Blanton to provide additional funds to go after Lee and try to extend the best period in franchise history with a super rotation. Or maybe the Phillies could sign Lee and use Hamels or Oswalt to trade for a high-end, righty-swinging bat to play the corner outfield.

The Nationals and Angels have also been brought up as the "mystery team".

Karl Ravech reported earlier today that the Rangers were making a strong push to sign Adrian Beltre, which to Ravich indicates that Lee may be leaning towards the Yankees... Who the hell knows?

And finally, the Daily News is now reporting that there will be no decision from Lee today:

The Yankees and Rangers will be forced to wait until at least Tuesday before learning of the star lefthander's fate, as a source told the Daily News that Lee is not expected to make his decision Monday night.

Lee has been mulling over offers from both the Yankees and Rangers since late last week, weighing the pros and cons of a move from Texas to New York. The Yankees have offered a seven-year deal in excess of $160 million, while Texas is believed to have guaranteed six years.

I'm officially starting to hate this as much as LeBron's decision... At least we all knew the date that would happen.

Report: Yanks, Rangers A Bad Fit For Greinke

From Jerry Crasnick:

Once Lee makes his call, the focus will inevitably shift to Kansas City's Zack Greinke, a 27-year-old former Cy Young Award winner and everybody's favorite Plan B. The news on that front doesn't look good for either Texas or New York.

Baseball sources said that Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore is actively gauging the market for Greinke, and that both the Yankees and Rangers rank down the list of potential fits for Greinke. The reason: Neither team has enough of the commodity that Moore is seeking in trade.

The Royals have a wealth of pitching talent in the minor leagues, a hot first base prospect in Eric Hosmer, an elite young third baseman in Mike Moustakas and a hard-hitting catcher, Wil Myers, who is probably going to have to shift to the outfield in the majors. As a result, sources say, Moore has focused on adding up-the-middle position players who are close to major league ready. And neither the Yankees nor the Rangers provide the best match for Kansas City.

The Yankees do have three catchers -- Jesus Montero, Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine -- among their list of top prospects. Infield prospect Eduardo Nunez would likely be part of a Yankees trade package, and sources said that outfielder Brett Gardner's name has come up in conversations between the clubs. But it appears that package wouldn't be enough to pry Greinke loose from the Royals.

I know some of you would love Greinke in Pinstripes, but as I've mentioned many times I'm not high on Greinke in New York, so this report doesn't bother me at all.

Yanks Won't Increase Offer For Lee

Brian Cashman told George King today that the Yankees will not increase their offer for the left-hander.

No more years. No more dollars.

If Cliff Lee is waiting for the Yankees to up their offer before deciding between The Bronx and Texas, the saga is going to continue.

GM Brian Cashman has spoken to agent Darek Braunecker since Thursday when The Post revealed the Yankees’ three separate offers to the 32-year-old lefty free agent.

The longest one is for seven years and believed to be in the $160 million range.

Asked if during those post-Winter Meeting talks if the Yankees increased their offer to Lee in years or dollars, Cashman said, “No.’’

With Lee deciding between the Rangers and Yankees, Cashman was asked if at some point the Yankees would up their offer.

“No,’’ said Cashman, who spent his time waiting for Lee’s decision Christmas shopping in Connecticut.

There is also this report from Buster Olney, who says a "Yankees official" believes the Yankees have a 50-50 shot of landing Lee.

The Yankees think it's far from a slam dunk that they'll sign Cliff Lee. One of their executives told a general manager from another team that he figures their chances stand at 50-50 -- and if they lose out, they'll probably pursue bullpen and bench help. The odds are that they won't pursue Greinke because of concern about how he would adapt to the New York market.

Rangers Manager Thinks Lee's Staying in Texas

From SI.com:

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington has a gut feeling about Cliff Lee.

"That he'll be here," he said Saturday.

...

"I think everything that needs to be done has been done. ... We just have to wait," Washington said.

...

"They had a good visit, and now we're waiting for some type of decision," Washington said Saturday at a luncheon where he was inducted into the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame.

Washington hasn't had any conversations with Lee and doesn't think any are needed. He knows the outcome is crucial for both the Rangers and Yankees.

"It would be huge simply because you'd have a No. 1 starter," Washington said. "Since we had him for 2½ months, we know what he brings. We'd like to see that over the long haul of a full season. Once again it comes down to waiting on Cliff Lee and his family, and they have to decide what they want to do. It's tough to speculate because you don't know. I told you what my gut said."

The decision might not come until Monday or later in the week.

"I can wait until they decide what they want to do," Washington said. "When a decision comes, it's going to be yea or nay. There's nothing more you can do about it. I have no idea when he's going to make a decision. I don't think he needs to make one until opening day of spring training."

This isn't really news, I mean, what else is he going to say? But it's been a slow Saturday so I figured I'd post something.

Hank Talks About Cliff

From Ronald Blum:

“For somebody of that stature, it would certainly behoove him to be a Yankee, which would probably be for the rest of his career,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ co-chairman, said during a telephone interview Friday with The Associated Press. “I think that would be a great move for him but, of course I’m prejudiced.”

...

“Everything is progressing,” Steinbrenner said. “We made the offer. It’s a very good offer, and we certainly hopes he takes it. It’s all up to him and his agent. We’ll see what happens.”
...

Lee would be 39 in the contract’s final season, but Steinbrenner isn’t worried. He cites the example of Pettitte, who at 38 was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA this year while missing two months because of a groin strain, a year after going 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA.

“Looking at how well Andy pitched up until this year and so forth, and he’s a lefty, the same kind of pitcher as Andy, I don’t really see a problem,” Steinbrenner said. “I think Cliff’s the kind of guy that can get it done and be effective for a long time. He’s a great pitcher.”
...

“Having Cliff and CC would be huge for us,” Steinbrenner said. “But it would be huge no matter whether they were lefty or righty, because they’re just that good.”

Baumbach: Lee's Friend Says He Will Pick Rangers

Lupica: I can link anything to Derek Jeter

While I can't find a print copy of that actual quote, I'm invoking a couple of notions known as "logic" and "common sense" - after all, that's his life's work.

Cliff Lee may turn out to be the most rare of free-agent starting pitchers, which means that he may be worth as much at the end of his contract as he is at the beginning of it.

Lee does strike me as the sort of pitcher that could thrive well into his late-30s. He survives on the edges of the plate, inducing weak contact, avoiding walks, and striking out batters at a solid rate. While his groundball rates leave a bit to be desired, he's improved in that regard and, as a southpaw, he'll stifle left-handed power to some degree.

So Lee might still be worth $25 million a year to the Yankees when he is 37 – the age Derek Jeter turns next year – or 38 or 39. So Lee might turn out to be the exception rather than the rule with insane contracts, money and length, for starters that often turn out to be a complete waste at the back end.

A mere sprinkling of Jeter here - a sign of things to come.

I should also point out that there haven't been too many long-term deals given to pitchers. Johan Santana and CC Sabathia are works in progress, and have mostly lived up to their lofty contracts. Santana's missed some time, but he's been very good to great when on the field. Mike Hampton and Barry Zito were panned from the get-go, but those seem to be the standard for "the rule" that Lupica infers. Kevin Brown had two excellent seasons, two above average, and two lost seasons - Carlos Zambrano appears to be on a similar path, though his numbers have been quite solid.

Lee might be pitching as well in his late 30s as he is now, even dial things up a notch at that point in his career the way Roger Clemens once did. Or he will offer the kind of part-time brilliance that Andy Pettitte did last season at the age of 38.

I'm not sure that Clemens is a fair comparison, as some of his rebirth could be linked to his PED use. Pettitte, on the other hand, works somewhat. Since his age 32 season, Pettitte has averaged 180 IP along with a 117 ERA+, 3.76 FIP, and 2.55 K/BB - and he wasn't coming off of his best seasons at that point. Worth $25 M a year? No. An albatross? No.

Who knows, Cliff Lee – if the Yankees get him – may turn out to be as smart a free-agent buy as Mike Mussina once was, be pitching so well at the end of a long-term contract that the Yankees want to sign him up again. He may be as durable as Greg Maddux once was, and that's why the Yankees want him the way they do.

Mussina and Maddux are fair comparisons, in that they didn't depend on dominating stuff. Both had longer track records of success, however, and neither completely reinvented themselves in their late 20s. That Lee is a lefty cannot be discounted, though, particularly in Yankee Stadium.

But here's the key thing: The Yankees have no idea if Lee will hold up or not. Don't know, don't care. They just care about next season.

For some reason, whether or not Lee can hold up for the duration of his contract is a unique issue, as is his impact on 2011.

The Yankees don't care how much they have to spend on Lee because the Red Sox now have Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford locked up. When the Yankees absolutely have to have somebody, can't live without him, they spend whatever they need to.

This is a competition that has gone on for quite some time, and, while silly, it is somewhat prudent. Looking at the AL as is, it'd be difficult to imagine the pennant winner not coming out of the AL East. At the same time, though, the Yankees did pass on Carlos Beltran several years ago. They passed on Matt Holliday and John Lackey last year. They don't spend money just to spend it ... with the exception of Kei Igawa.

They were supposed to be done a couple of years ago after spending $240 million on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and then they found another $180 million on a shelf in a closet for Mark Teixeira.

Teixeira fit into the budget that the Cashman had discussed, and the Yankees were looking for a first baseman at the time. I'm not sure how filling a need is relevant to the questions of Lee's long-term viability.

But, man oh man, the Yankees sure did have to hold the line on Jeter. Various Yankee executives and accountants nearly tore rotator cuffs patting themselves on the back for saving Hal Steinbrenner and Hank Steinbrenner and all Steinbrenner heirs everywhere some money on the captain of the team. Who is getting up there in age, you bet.

Jeter will make $48 MM over the next three years - this coming off of the worst season of his career. Sure, he was great in 2009, but the year before that was the worst season of his career to-date. His value lay in his bat, as he has limited range at short, and his bat didn't look too strong in 2010.

Only now they are willing to commit a lot more money, whatever they have to spend, on Lee when he is 36 and 37 and 38. They are willing to bet that money because they have to have the guy to keep up. Because the Red Sox decided they were willing to spend Yankee-like money on Gonzalez and Crawford.

Key differences include - Lee is coming off of three great seasons with no signs of decline; the Yankees currently have three starting pitchers (one of whom was atrocious throughout 2010); Lee is not a 'surprise' target.

Because the Red Sox found $142 million for Crawford the way the Yankees found all that money for Teixeira.

This could be an SAT question - Red Sox need an OF'er:Yankees need a 1B :: Carl Crawford:Mark Teixeira.

We always hear before the winter meetings that there is just so much money the Yankees are allowed to spend, that they have to stay in the "200 million-ish" range. That Hal Steinbrenner – who's running a business, dammit! – has given Brian Cashman a "budget." We got that a lot in the Yankee media over the last couple of weeks that the Yankees were being brave and strong and practically noble for holding the line on Jeter.

So far as I can tell, the Yankees haven't broken their self-imposed budget - they freed up a fair bit of space in letting Vazquez, Johnson, and Wood walk, didn't they? I'm also fairly certain that Jeter will be making an average of $16 MM over the next three years, making him the highest-paid middle infielder in the game - this following the worst season of his career.

We hear that the Yankees are terrified, that's what they are, about having too much money tied up with aging ballplayers. Except now they are prepared to commit a ton of money to Cliff Lee when he is……an aging ballplayer!

Not an issue.

The difference between Lee and the current crop of aging players is that Lee has not shown signs of decline. Granted, they will surely come - but it's difficult to know how his career arc will unfold. He's comparable to Pettitte and Mussina - it's not irrational to expect him to be worth a fair amount into late-30s.

The Yankees never do, even when they say they do. It is why the key thing with the people running the Yankees, bless their hearts, is that you must pay attention to nothing they say and everything they do. They paid Burnett $82 million in the great spending baseball winter of a couple of years ago and got one good year out of him and now there is a suggestion, because that one good year helped the Yankees win their first World Series since 2000, that is was money well spent, that anything the rest of the way is a bonus. Well, maybe in the Saudi baseball kingdom of 161st Street, just nowhere else on the planet.

What did they do that they said they wouldn't do? Or what didn't they do that they said they would? When they're looking for pitchers, they sign pitchers. When they're looking for a position player, they sign a position player. This isn't rocket science. Lee has been in their sights for the entirety of 2010 at the very least.

As bad as Burnett was in 2010, it's premature to label him as dead weight going forward. I'm interested in seeing what Rothschild can get out of him - Lupica is only concerned with the Jeter-centric universe.

When the Yankees want somebody the way they want Lee, there is always talk about how much money is coming off the books. We would have heard that if they had signed both Lee and Crawford.

Money coming off the books strikes me as incredibly relevant in an economic sense. It seems quite sensible and rational to base a team's available funds on what's currently on the books.

"As recently as two nights ago," one baseball guy told me this morning, "the Yankees were extremely interested in Carl Crawford."

A baseball guy, eh? What exactly constitutes a baseball guy?

Now the Yankees expect us to believe that they were just trying to drive up Crawford's price. Sure they were. As if making Crawford more expensive was going to make him less of a presence in the Boston batting order if they got him. How does that work?

If Boston is indeed a pauper team as John Henry would lead us to believe, it could serve to hamstring the team's finances a bit - both in 2011 and in the future. Should Crawford's contract turn into a disaster, the extra year(s) and dollars could be a boon to the Red Sox's competitors.

Isn't this sort of common practice anyway? This is what I'm guessing the Red Sox sought to do with Mariano Rivera - unless we assume they wanted to spend $25 MM on he and Papelbon in 2011.

The Yankees didn't come into these meetings conceding Crawford to the Angels or the Red Sox, whatever spin they want to put on this now. Maybe the Crack Accounting Committee (it was the Crack Baseball Committee for a lomg time but, hey, times change) on 161st Street wasn't on top of the fact that Boston had a ton of money, around $37 million, coming off the books. That even trading for Gonzalez and signing Crawford, Boston's current payroll is right around $160 million for the 2011 season. Epstein's payroll will surely go up from there, because he needs to go out and sign some relief pitchers. Just not to $200 million-ish or even close.

Support this with something. When was Crawford truly on the Yankees radar? When did the Yankees hint at shopping an outfielder to make room?

I also think it's funny that he bashes the Yankees for utilizing money coming off the books, then follows it up with the Red Sox financial might due to ... money coming off the books.

This isn't about the Red Sox now being declared the favorites in the American League East. We always do that here, every single winter, when the Yankees make another big splash. There hasn't been a time in 10 years when the Yankees weren't declared automatic champions because of this offseason move or that.

The Yankees have rarely, if ever, been labeled as 'automatic champions.' At least not by any reputable source. It also stands to reason that a very good team adding some great players would gain some ground in the on-paper race to the World Series.

When they got Teixeira and Burnett and Sabathia, it was supposed to be the beginning of another Yankee dynasty, even if it hasn't worked out that way.

Two years in, the Yankees have won a World Series, four playoff series, and 198 games (most in Major League Baseball). Sure, it's not two World Series titles - but it's a pretty good start.

One of these days the owners of the Yankees should go back and look at where the Yankee payroll was in comparison to the rest of the sport when the team was winning four World Series in five years.

I'll take a look for them - perhaps one of them will stumble upon our humble blog.

1996 - 1st
1997 - 1st
1998 - 2nd
1999 - 1st
2000 - 1st

Sure, salaries have gone up and the gap has widened over time - but the Yankees have been the biggest spenders in the game for quite some time.

So now the Red Sox spend like the Yankees. The Yankees are prepared to spend big on Lee. Maybe Lee will be locked up by the end of the day or the end of the week. And the bidding will get even crazier. Six years has now become seven years. Where does it go, what is the final number if the Rangers decide to go all-in, and Arte Moreno of the Angels decides to do the same thing?

I don't think anyone knows where it will go. Lee seems to want to play for the Yankees, and the Yankees coffers know no limits when someone is in their sights - I believe Lupica made that point himself. I'm not particularly concerned with the "mystery teams" either.

One thing is for sure:

It sure is lucky the Yankees held the line on Derek Jeter.

I wouldn't call it luck - I'd call it a fairly good business move, in retaining the team's most popular player for less than his asking price. It puts the team in a decent position, too - if Jeter rebounds, it's something of a steal. If he doesn't, the Yankees aren't handcuffed to a player like the one we witnessed in 2010.

Yanks Gave Lee Several Options..... And Other Lee Rumors

From Joel Sherman:

The Yankees have offered Cliff Lee an assortment of contract choices ranging from five years to seven years, The Post has learned.

The idea is to give Lee a range of options that, the Yankees hope , separate them from whatever field remains for the ace lefty’s services. Yankees officials presented Lee’s agent, Darek Braunecker, with the parameters of these proposals at the outset of free agency, but Braunecker asked that nothing formal be presented until the past two days at the Winter Meetings.

The Yankees' offers work on a scale in which the shorter the term, the higher the annual average value. It is believed the bids work something like this: five years for $125 million; six years for $144 million; seven years for $161 million; or $25 million a year, $24 million a year and $23 million a year, respectively.

It's also been reported today that the Rangers are having a third meeting with Lee and have asked Lee's agent what it would take to sign him. The Angels remain in the mix as well.

Besides all that, there are rumors flying around that the Yankees may be willing to go as high as $180 million for as long as 8 years if necessary. I hope both are untrue. Sorry, but Cliff Lee isn't THAT good.

Yanks Add a 7th Year For Lee

From Pete Caldera:

The Yankees upped their offer on Cliff Lee, going to a seventh year early this morning.

According to an industry source, the Yanks improved their bid on the ace left-hander shortly after the news of Carl Crawford’s agreement with the Boston Red Sox.

Jon Heyman is reporting the same thing, and says that the 7-year deals that Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford received basically forced the Yankees hand here.

Cashman Confirms Yanks Made Offer For Lee

Jack Curry (among others) is reporting that the Brian Cashman has confirmed that the Yankees have made an offer on Cliff Lee.

Cashman told reporters that Lee's agent has "all the information he needs," and that "he's someone that's worth waiting for. We certainly hope that he picks us."

Bob Klapisch says that "Yanks think they can make it impossible for Lee to say no".

Lee's Agent Leaves Winter Meetings

Jerry Crasnick is reporting that Cliff Lee's agent Darek Braunecker has left the winter meetings. I guess this means a deal will have to wait, along with many other deals around the sport that are in a holding pattern until Lee signs.

Heyman: Yanks to Make "Very Strong" Offer to Lee Today

Is Carl Crawford in the Cards?

(Updated: 12:47 PM) It is now being reported that the Brian Cashman had a long meeting with Crawford's representatives last night.

I am admittedly unsure as to how often these sorts of meetings happen - for all I know, the Yankees and other teams may spend a fair share of time deliberating the bigger names on the market. After all, that's sort of the purpose of the Winter Meetings. That being said, the Yankees have been linked to Crawford more and more over the past week or so ... and it wouldn't be shocking to see the front office "retaliate" against the Gonzalez trade by making such a deal.

The Lee news is somewhat disconcerting, but it isn't anything new, as the Yankees have been loath to go beyond a five or six year deal thus far.

With news that Andy Pettitte was all but certain to retire leaking some three weeks after the statements were initially made, I find myself wondering if this has been the Yankees plan all along. Should both Lee and Crawford be signed, I would expect Swisher or Gardner to be moved for another starter, though I don't know that the team has anyone in particular in mind - Greinke's cost would remain too high, in my mind, though Tim Hudson (who is likely available for outfield help) is an interesting option - particularly given the Yankees potential outfield surplus.

Heyman: Lee Has Two 7-Year Offers

After several weeks of conflicting report I have now stopped believing anything I read. That said, here's the latest from Jon Heyman:

.... And Now The Nats Are Not In On Lee

Jon Heyman is now reporting that a "source" has told him the Nats are not in on Lee, but he still says a 7-year deal is possible for Lee from someone else.

Damn you Twitter and your conflicting reports!

Nats To Offer Lee 7 Years

Wow.

Rosenthal: It May Take a 7-Year Deal to Land Lee

From Ken Rosenthal:

Five years will not be enough for Cliff Lee. Six might not be, either.

Lee, the prized free-agent left-hander, will receive a seven-year offer, according to major-league sources.

As of Monday night, it was not clear whether any team had extended such a proposal. But at least one club has expressed a willingness to go seven years, sources say.

...

However, one source with knowledge of the team’s thinking insisted that the Yankees do not plan to offer the pitcher a seven-year deal

Apparently, Joel Sherman's sources are saying the same thing:

I want the Yankees to sign Lee, and I also believe they fall short of #28 in 2011 without him, however, seven years might be too much. If that's what he's demanding and the Yankees decide to go in another direction, I won't blame them.