As all baseball fans know, Cliff Lee is currently the best pitcher on the free-agent market for the 2011 season. These previous days, the baseball community has been made aware of the offers for Lee.
The Yankees and the Rangers both have made strong bids. Although the exact offer has not been released, recent reports from ESPN have shown both six and seven year deals from both the Rangers and the Yankees. Heck, even the Angels have an excellent shot of getting Lee!
The 31-year-old left-hander is projected to sign within a few days, according to Buster Olney. We’ll only know for sure when the time comes.
As of now, it looks that the Yankees have no backup plans. Yes, I know they are focused on the Lee wars, but is it really going to be worth the money to pay a man until he is 38. He may be terrible! But, that’s the risk of signing free-agent pitchers.
Here are some suggestions that the Yankees should at least consider if Lee fails to sign in the Bronx (which wouldn’t be surprising to me).