Cliff Lee, the biggest free agent on the market this year, has many rumors going on about him. It has been said that Cliff has two 7 year offers on the table. I doubt that this is true. It is most likely a rumor started by Cliff’s agent. At the moment I do not think Cliff has been offered a formal offer. I do think that teams have talked to him very seriously though. I think that the two front runners are still the Rangers and Yankees. The Angels have been in talks with Lee’s agent but I do not think that they are going to be a team that actually has a chance to get him. I think that the Yankees have the best chance at getting Lee but the Rangers might just jump in there and shock people. I think that the Angels really want to go after Lee but I do not think he is interested. They may be used as a piece to drive the price up though. The Nationals I believe are the least of the teams. They just spent a bunch of their free cash on Jason Werth and I don’t think they want to create two huge contracts in the same year.
I have had this feeling in the back of my mind for the last few weeks. These talks have been far to quiet. I know Cliff doesn’t like to show all his cards but I am guessing that there is something going on behind the scenes. Is it the Rangers or is it another team we haven’t heard of? I don’t know. But I do think that the Yankees have a large chance of having one of the best left handed pitchers stolen from them for the second time this year. Here is my logic behind it.
1. I really think Cliff loves Texas. I think at first when he came here he was naturally disappointed. But the crowds that showed up to watch him play and all the nice people he met there may have changed him. Yes it is hot in Texas but Cliff is from Arkansas. The other reason he likes it here is because it is close to his family and I think that the Yankees don’t realize how much of a family man he is.
2. If Cliff Lee was going to New York I think he would have signed an offer by now. If he was telling people he wanted to be in New York the Rangers or another team would have made him a good offer by now to try to get him not to and he would have signed whatever the Yankees gave him to outbid that. I think that the wait is because he is trying to get the Rangers or another team to give him a good enough offer by seeing what the Yankees offer first. I think Cliff may be using the Yankees to get a bigger contract and I think the Yankees might know this. That would be why Cliff does not have an offer from the Yankees yet. Because they are worried that he will use the offer to get more money from someone else.
These things may be my head just thinking up ways for Cliff to get to Texas but for some reason I can’t get it out of my head. I think that this seriously could he happening and Cliff could be on his way to Texas by the end of the month.
h my, yankees dropped down big time. I think whomever gives him the better offer will get him.