Earlier this winter a team of doctors cleared former
Philadelphia Phillies left-handed starting pitcher Cliff Lee to pitch again in
the Major Leagues after a pair of scary elbow and arm injuries in 2014 and
2015. Lee was bought out of his contract with the Phillies and allowed to hit
free agency at 37-years old leaving many to wonder if he would simply retire
rather than give it another go. Lee responded to these rumors and speculations
by saying that he would have to have the “perfect fit” to come back to the
Major Leagues in 2016 and if he didn’t find it he would be content with simply
riding off into the sunset with his family into retirement. There hasn’t been
much Cliff Lee chatter since but this week Lee got a little more specific on
just what the “perfect fit” is for him and his family.
Lee, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, wants to
pitch for a contender in 2016. Lee is also said to be asking for a high base salary
despite his health questions rather than a smaller deal with incentives written
into the contract like many pitchers at this stage would sign after not
pitching in a MLB game since August of 2014. Many teams have shown interest in
Lee including the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros, the Toronto Blue Jays,
the Baltimore Orioles, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Texas Rangers and the Kansas
City Royals but all teams involved are worried about his readiness to pitch
again at the big league level.
The high base salary may scare off the Yankees and their
owner Hal Steinbrenner but New York is one of the few teams that intends on
competing in 2016 while also having the flexibility both on the roster and
fiscally to take such a chance on Lee. I’m not sure the same can be said for
teams like the Pirates, Orioles, Blue Jays and Royals after the way this winter
has gone down and the way most of these teams have thrown money around already
this offseason.
Sure there are rumors that Lee is not comfortable pitching
in New York, he already once turned down a seven year deal worth $148 million
from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, and sure there are reports that his wife Kristen
was not happy with the Yankees fans but it could still happen. It especially
could still happen if not too many teams come knocking on Lee’s door as we inch
closer to spring training. You have to have a short memory as a pitcher,
hopefully that extends both on the field and off the field for the Yankees and
Lee so they can come to a mutual agreement.
MRS.KRISTEN LEE & HANS:
ReplyDeleteThe Yankees some how get the Cliff Lee deal done. Great.
The Yankees placate the bomb thrower, Kristen Lee, by promising to
give her an even better seat, behind home plate. Great.
As luck would have it, the great seat is right next to Hans.
Hans, with his white socks, who smells.......
like a Jersey chemical waste dump.