In a baseball scoreboards news review, we look at the Cliff Less transfer saga. Who will he choose?
The greatest trade currently in MLB is still undecided. Almost every team wants him, but the two most probable teams to whom Cliff Lee will move to is the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. Cliff Lee, who is 31, is looking for a seven year contract. He is a free agent and has played for the Texas Rangers in 2010. Cliff Lee is all over the news channels these days, and for good reason: the baseball scoreboards showed that he finished the 2008 season with 2.54 ERS and a CY award. Recently he led the Texas Rangers through the postseason.
Lee is a starting pitcher and is looking for a contract that will offer him more than $20 million annually. Both the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers are in the race and are increasing their contractual amounts to hire Lee. Lee, on the other hand has not even given a hint as to which team he will choose. The Yankees have increased their offer to $161 million for seven years from $140 million for six years. The Rangers, to keep up with the race, have met with Lee, his wife and agent and have offered him a different payment structure.
It seems to me that both the Rangers do not have a plan B, i.e. they do not know what they will do if Lee does not say yes to their offer. However, the Yankees do have some kind of plan B, which became evident when they made an offer to another free agent catcher, Russell Martin. The Yankees have made it clear to Martin and his agent that they want him as a starting catcher. Zack Greinke is also an option for the Yankees, should they lose out on Cliff Lee. Although Grienke has a no trade clause, he has said that he could pitch for the New York Yankees.
Does the Yankees search for an alternative mean that Cliff Lee will accept the offer by the Rangers? Well, nobody knows the answer to this question as yet. The Rangers have not yet disclosed their plan B, if they have one. They have met with Lee in his house and have structured an offer according to his needs, so if I had to put money on it, I would say that there are more chances of Lee signing the contract with them. But what if the Yankees offer him more than the Rangers? Money speaks. Today only a few players play for the passion and love that they have for the game. For the majority it is the money that does the talking!
For more information, go to: en.wikipedia.org