6:01pm: The Yankees have not made Lee an offer and the Yahoo report below is inaccurate, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
12:29pm: An industry source told Yahoo's Tim Brown yesterday that the Yankees offered Cliff Lee "nearly $140MM over six years, but Lee continues to hold out for a seventh year." Brown does not appear to have full confidence in the source, as the item was placed low in the column and he notes that he was unable to confirm the offer with the Yankees or Lee's agent. We found the link via Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues, who has a good take on the rumor.
On Sunday, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote, "Word is the Yankees are in the $115 million-$120 million range for five years."
It seems likely that the Yankees are willing to give Lee a $23-24MM salary, allowing him to top C.C. Sabathia and own that record for a while, not counting Roger Clemens' pro-rated $28MM in 2007. But if Lee wants to beat or match Sabathia's $161MM for the highest total contract ever given to a pitcher, he needs that seventh year despite being four years older than Sabathia was when he signed. Lee's agent Darek Braunecker could also attempt to duplicate Sabathia's opt-out clause. Braunecker famously negotiated such a clause into A.J. Burnett's five-year, $55MM deal with the Blue Jays.
wow
So I see Cashman is trying to show him who’s boss.
There’s a time for love and a time for living.
You take a chance and face the wind.
An open road and a road that’s hidden
A brand new life around the bend.
There were times when I lost a dream or two.
Found the trail, and at the end was you.
There’s a path you take and a path untaken
The choice is up to you my friend.
Nights are long but you’re on your way
To a brand new life,
Brand new life,
Brand new life around the bend.
I think people are just tossing out numbers and years because they know it’s going to be an absurd amount regardless.
There was a report last offseason that said Damon chose the Braves, which this remind be a lot of.
I do trust Tim Brown, so I was willing to post this story. The doubts are pretty well laid out, so hopefully fans do not take the rumor as certainty. Most likely other reporters will draw out info on it at some point today.
It’s not that I doubt Yankees offered Lee that much, since the team in discussion is the Yankees, but even I don’t think Yankees would offer 6-years for Lee, unless some other team does.
Choke Lee after his 3rd year. Pretty much, once the Yankees win 2 of the next 3 series.
That’s what everyone said when the Yankees got Randy Johnson. That’s why baseball has to be played.
::pst:: (Trying to jinx it)
Except Cliff Lee is about 7 or 8 years younger than Randy Johnson was at the time. The two situations are not similar.
Age has nothing to do with this. The only thing at issue is that the baseball has to actually be played for games to be won. The Yanks may well win two of the next three series’. Or they may not. Pitching is only half of the game. Still have to score runs, and the Yankees can fall asleep at the plate as badly as the Royals or D-Backs at times. Paper is meaningless.
*Paper is meaningless unless you want to cover rock.
Correction.
Im not usually one to play the ol’ “Bankees” card, but that is just disgusting
really disgusting? this is right around the offer most writers said he would get from multiple teams…frankly im surprised its only 6 years…If i were a gm i would offer a 6 year deal worth 140 ish maybe eve go 160 but with deferred payments with no intrest over like 10 years after that..a guy his age might go for it a constant source of income for the next 10+ years
I don’t think there were many teams willing to spend 140 over six years. Not sure where you heard that.
I love to see the Yanks laden with potentially catastrophic contracts. Unfortunately, Lee doesn’t look like he’ll suck as he ages.
Wow, now what team honestly would match that ? No way on earth would a team offer thats not the Yankees
That’s too much.
That’s What She Said!
You mean…. “That’s what Selig said!”
You mean…. “Selig lets this happen while poor market teams like the Pirates and Royals suffer!”
You mean… “Selig has the sport with the most parity” Kiss the rings (from multiple teams)
And big market teams like the Mets still continue to suck and waste money. Good luck with Collins! I am just a little tired of this small market crap. If it wasn’t for the Yankees – there would be 8 teams in baseball.
Forever among the Pirates & Royals we stand.
Wow! 6yr 140 not enough for Lee???
Hey Cliff, Tim Lincecum ate you for breakfast!!!
Hey 55saveslives, Tim Lincecum isn’t a free agent!!!
Selig can change that.
Didn’t say he was. Just saying after losing BOTH his W.S. games, he should take the deal! Nobody is going to offer anything that compares.
Yeah, I love how the pitcher can make his team’s offense perform better and his team’s defense field better. I think it’s really great how whether a pitcher wins or not is a good way to declare which one is superior.
LOL…
Sorry the joke went over your head. The point is, there is NO reason to turn down 140 million dollars!
Not unless you can get $165 million that is…
Idiotic, if true — and probably close enough to true to verify what we already know. Unfortunately for the rest of baseball, the Yankees can afford no end of idiotic contracts.
One saving grace for Dodgers fans is that they can afford idiotic owners and GMs
OK Yanks, after you finish lavishing absurd amounts of money on Lee, run along and pay off the national deficit, and then pick me up a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk from the store…
I’m pretty sure revenue sharing is intended to help pay off the deficit of other MLB teams. Communists.
At this point (as someone who is not a Yankee fan) I hope the contract becomes absolutely ridiculous and long, so that they get stuck with him in the last three or four years of the deal.
I do think the Yankees are in some danger of getting locked into too many ridiculous deals. Not because they can’t afford it, but because there are only so many roster spots. If they sign Jeter to a 4 year deal, the left side of the infield could look pretty nasty in a couple years.
Not the only thing ridiculous and long in MLB. /wink /wink
You think there’s a downside? So what if they have to release someone with $50m or more left on their contract? They can easily afford to waste the money. The main point of these absurd contracts is to deny the players to any other team they might face — whether they can perform for the entire term of the contract is besides the point. That’s why Lee is holding out for more.
I doubt this is true. I don’t think they would offer such a big contract so fast and then run the risk of bidding against themselves when Lee wants a seventh year. Let texas make the first offer then bump it up and then bust out this big boy if they’re still in it.
If they’re going to play hardball with Jeter, why not play this in a similar manner? I mean everyone knows if its just the money the Yankees will win, but if Lee likes texas then theres really nothing they can do. Its not like the Yankees run the risk of having Lee stolen right from under their nose at the last minute.
As audacious as it sounds, it’s the same type of offer that was given to Sabathia 2 years ago. It may well be untrue, but it’s an offer to blow everyone out of the water, and shows that NY really feels they need Lee, if its legitimate.
Huh. If that is the deal, then I am not sure I would be all that heartbroken if Lee does end up taking it and going to the Yankees. That’s a massive debt and gamble for any team just for one player, but the Yankees will have around the same money into both Lee and Sabathia. It might pay dividends in the short term, but around year 3 or 4…watch out.
Agreed. The Yanks have in recent years gone from just spending big to specifically offering very long contracts to star players, in order to get short-term benefits. They got extremely lucky with Derek Jeter’s contract, but A-Rod has already dropped well below the value of his contract. Burnett was overpaid, Sabathia will hurt in a couple of years, Teixeira might end up giving the most value but even he’s getting older, etc. etc. And now with Cliff Lee…I can definitely see him being the superstar he is for two, three more years, but after that….who knows, Yankees could end up really regretting this.
you could say that with virtually any long term deal, though – might hurt them on the back end and stuff. one of the yanks biggest strengths is their ability to absorb those deals. what makes me and other yanks fans feel good about cliff is that impeccable control and command tend to age well. i don’t think they go 6 years unless they absolutely have to but in the end, other teams would be offering these contracts if they could and had to. i’m not always in full support of huge deals but the yanks have a clear need and they’re addressing it. plus, if it does go awry, they have plenty of arms coming up in the next couple years.
yeah, the yankees can absorb these contracts (which works out well for them) but the issue with that team isn’t that they don’t have enough star power; it is that they don’t have the depth needed to compete over 162 games AND three rounds of the playoffs.
these huge contracts they give out are immovable virtually the day they are signed, meaning older players can’t be traded, the farm system can’t be replenished, and a bevvy of young organizational depth can’t be achieved.
you can’t knock the yanks too much considering they won a ring in 2009, but the situation they are heading towards right now is starting to look really ill-advised, especially if you look at the geriatric starting 9 they will have over the next few years.
This assumes that they can’t afford to eat tens of millions in bad contracts — which they can. Unlike any other team in baseball, their finances allow them to tender contracts which are unwise baseball by any normal definition. I can see them sitting on $100m in nonperforming players in a few years. But they don’t have to care because they can take the loss on those contracts and start the process all over again. If more baseball fans understood what the Yankees were really doing, I think the outrage would be even greater and maybe MLB would finally be moved to changing the system.
Okay, you and I agree but come to different conclusions. I feel that the Yankees might indeed be affected by all that dead weight, and you don’t think so. I guess its just a different way to perceive the Yankees…I guess I just hope that they’ll show some mortality in a couple of years, when they maybe struggle with salary issues. 🙂
I’d hope so, but I don’t see any signs of them choking on huge contracts or even worrying about the risks. Every year we’re reminded that their ability to spend is effectively unlimited.
i agree mammoth contracts are hard to move, no question there. but i think any team that signs these deals have enough confidence that they’ll see a positive return so any fear of moving them is moot at the time of signing. the yanks farm is flush with talent, especially upper level pitching, so i don’t think you can truly argue that these deals have hurt the yanks’ farm system. only a few teams can build a championship caliber team and keep their farm talent level high. cash has done an awesome job at that since gaining more power with smart draft picks and signing talent in the IFA market. the age of the lineup, i think, is a little overblown. cano, swish, gardner, granderson and teixeira are all in or entering their primes. montero’s unproven but if he performs, that’s another young guy who can contribute big. arod had a down year, by his standards, but ya know what? i’ll take his line for the rest of his contract. with big contracts, i’m more concerned with the years rather than the money simply because i think the years can hurt a team more.
Dude, sounds like sour grapes to me. What evidence do you have that CC will hurt in couple of years? You don’t. A-Rod still performs, but not to the level of that contract. That is the only player I’ll grant you. Burnett pitched well in 09 (see: Game 2of the 2009 World Series). I’m not going to bash on you because you’re having a rough go getting FAs in the past two offseasons, but for the love of God…understand baseball in the context of finances and contracts to determine who makes what and why.
All right I don’t have much evidence with Sabathia. Although, Fangraphs did have a couple articles this year about how his strikeout rate has gone down, and he’s become more of a groundball pitcher, which while still effective, has the tendency to be a middle-of-the-rotation kind of talent rather than ace quality. And we saw that this year, where after the wins, Sabathia had a bit of a down year by his admittedly high standards. Anyway, you’re right, other than maybe some silly remarks about his weight which I don’t necessarily agree with, I don’t have much to back that argument.
Sorry, I’m going to ask for some more evidence for Burnett in 09. One World Series game doesn’t make you an effective pitcher. I will be honest, all of Burnett’s struggles in 2010 have probably magnified in my mind any weaknesses he may have had in 2009, so please. Tell me how he was effective that year. I thought he underperformed, but I could definitely be wrong.
You’re also right, the Boston FO hasn’t exactly impressed recently, especially with longer-term signings. That’s partly what prompted my concern, I think. It’s less that the Yankees are bad at recognizing talent; it’s clear with Jeter and Teixeira that they do, and A-Rod as you said is still a good player, even while being overpaid. And Cliff Lee would be another great signing talent-wise. It’s just notable that the Yankees are really piling on the big contracts right now, and I think it is fair to assume that they might have problems in 3-4 years. We’re seeing one of those potential disasters unfold right now, as underperfoming Jeter is about to be very overpaid for at least 3 years. Someone else commented that you could say there is this kind of risk for every long-term contract, so why pick on the Yankees? Well I agree, but the reason I’m noting it with the Yankees is that because of their wealth they are able to add one of these big, multi-year contracts every offseason, without much effect to their coffers, and because of this huge advantage, its possible that in 2012 or so, when more than just one or two players might begin performing well under their salary, that the Yankees have a problem on their hands. Just imagine in the last couple years of their contracts, if A-Rod is one more injury away from retirement, Teixeira is this years Berkman as he begins to age, Sabathia moves to #3 starter to make room for the new guns, etc. etc. This is an extreme, but if that happens, the Yankees suddenly have 100+ million salary all in just a couple slightly above-average to average players.
Benoit…Buck…Huff… and right now just an offer for Lee…
MLB free agency is overpayment like no other.
Thats MLB free agency for you, paying the average like they are good, the good like they are great and the great like they are Albert Pujols. .
Teams lock up all their stars these days, which leads to thinning of the free agency market, which leads to overbidding… its really all Tampa’s fault
Kevin Brown, The Sequel (in 3D)
Kevin Brown’s back injury =/= Cliff Lee’s back injury.
Randy Johnson and the King of Chokes
I don’t know what’s more egregious.. a 6/140 offer or the fact that Lee is holding out for a seventh year.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
Its like 6/140…. Really Yanks? Really??
but then its like
Cliff is holding out for a 7th year… Really Cliff.. Seriously???
Match made in heaven if you ask me
If you’re literally the last guy on earth and you’re not a bad looking guy to begin with, do you settle down with the first attractive young lady you see, or do you say “well, you’re cute and all, but Rosario Dawson just called and…”
There are three teams willing to offer the guy big bucks and none of them have a plan B. If I’m Lee, I respond to every obscene offer by asking for a bit more. What’re the Yankees going to do, tell him thanks but no thanks?
I get the art of negotiation.. But if you are looking for a 6 year deal, and one is offered to you, I don’t see the point of going above your original demands and greedily now asking for a 7th year…
and p.s I am settled down, and if Rosario Dawson called I’d be cool with it.. lets be serious here, I’d hit my wife with my car for a piece of Dawson lol
Moonraker is right. The Yanks aren’t pressed to add another year if no one else comes close to their offer. In the case of CC they decided to add another year and the opt out because they were desperate and wanted to overwhelm him before the Angels figured out whether or not Tex was signable.
Reds Offer 4 Yr 89 Mill
Where are all the Yankee fans shouting “Great deal!! make it happen!!!”
Oh wait… they’re piling out of Yankee Stadium in the 6th Inning.
I’m sure you’re watching in front of your TV waving your team’s pennant when they’re getting blown out of a game.
Has any other team even made an offer for Lee? I mean I hope this doesn’t turn out to be another situation where the Yankees offer 60million more than the next bidder. CC’s contract is ridiculous, and thank goodness he’ll be off it by age 35. Granted, Lee is a finesse pitcher and may pitch well into his late 30s, but a 6yr/140M is too much by anyone’s standards, and it’s even more absurd that he’s waiting for a 7th year.
Not formally I don’t think. Texas and the Nationals have said to have interest, but as someone said above, the Nationals already have their statement.
I don’t think any team would want to match that. Who knows what will happen 6 years down the road? And he’s holding out for 7?
I’m speechless. It’s insane.
Okay Yanks; go ahead and take Cliff Lee from everyone else; we all know you made a mistake with AJ Burnett, and redemption has to happen oh yes, because if it doesn’t, you won’t get no. 28.
AJ Burnett was a proven mediocre pitcher with one break contract year and he cashed in on it. Now we’re seeing his true colors as a below average to average pitcher who can’t control his stuff, both on the mound and in his head. At this point i’d say the Yankees dangle Burnett for Zambrano, maybe Big Z can be salvaged. And the only way the Yankees get number 28 is if they shore up that bullpen and starting rotation, Start Teix in May, send him home in October, and bring up Montero, amongst other things.
There’s no reason for the Cubs to make that deal. Big Z is owed less money, fewer years and is a malcontent that can actually pitch fairly well from time to time. Burnett is more money, more years and is a malcontent who sucks more or less full-time these days.
So Yankee fans – which one is it?
“We don’t buy championships.”
or
“We do buy championships, but it’s totally within the rules.”
How about…
“We sign players to help fill our most gaping holes.”
Sorry, for some reason I thought free agency meant you could sign players based off the worth you assign to them. My mistake!
Your most gaping hole is a # 1 starter when you’ve already got CC Sabbathia?
Cliff Lee can be an ace on any team but we have an ace. Lee is signed without a doubt to be our #2 which in most cases would have been Petite pending his decision to retire. If he doesn’t then the need is less but we would still have Lee signed. This is more so a case where we are planning for the worst case scenario. I would consider that a rather large hole to fill.
a Yankees fans’ idea of a hole in the team is a bit different from every single other baseball fan’s, i guess.
I keep forgetting that every other baseball teams fan’s don’t know what it’s like to have their team spend money in the offseason.See how easy it is to spout incoherent generalizations about baseball fans?
the Dodgers are usually in the top 10. the problem is, everytime the yankees offer a contract like this, it makes every other free agent want more money. then the dodgers have to spend more money, and then tickets, dodger dogs, and parking get more expensive.
no fun for me.
Years go by, dollar loses value, cost of living goes up, higher contracts, more money spent, and higher prices. It’s a vicious cycle, but what bothers me is the “Yankees buy championships” rant when people fail to realize that 1 player doesn’t make a team. It takes a group of skilled players (most of them brought up in the Yankee farm system) to round out the quality “championship-caliber” team that is known as the New York Yankees. So if you’re frustrated that contract amounts keep getting to high and effect ticket prices…I don’t think that would matter even if the Yankees were a small market team. Some other team would be there to take it’s place as the “Evil Empire”.
1 player doesn’t make a team. but the yakees don’t only have “1 super star” or “2 super stars” they have an infield that makes more money than some other teams…
Don’t even get me started on the A-Rod contract for one, don’t like it never have. If you take him out of the equation, it’s not so bad. Tex has a big contract but it’s not as insane as A-Rod’s.
No sense arguing with Yankee fans… they’re whole perspective on baseball is out of whack as it is. After all, they are the center of the universe.
Yanks aren’t the ones that set the market for FA pitchers, thanks. See Santana, Zito, Zambrano, Hampton, Park, etc
Don’t tell Lee that because I think he wants to be paid as at least equal to the #1 starter.
I’ll try to keep my voice down next time ;).
“We sign players to help fill our most gaping holes.”
TWSS…
So Yankee haters – which one is it?
“[team that makes a higher offer] buys their championships”
or
“looks like the Yankees got beaten at their own game”
huh?
my point is that apparently only the Yankees buy their championships, not a single other team does the same thing. Just the Yankees, because they’re team is just composed of a bunch of journeymen…
if any other team had played in half of the last 15 world series, you’d have a point.
Yeah but the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 teams were built off of Bernie Williams, Pettitte, Posada, Jeter and Mo…all homegrown and a bunch of vets like Wells, Clemens, O’Neil, Knoblaugh, etc that were all traded for. So really, the only major FA pickups that appeared in the WS we played in were Mussina and Giambi in 2003 and AJ, CC and Tex in 2009. Next silly comment…
by the way, baseball is a business: business owners get criticized when they don’t put their money back into the business, why should it be the opposite for baseball owners?
it’s the ethical thing to do
Unreal…just unreal…no baseball player is worth that much …even CC….Teams like the Yanks,Sox ,Mets and all the other teams over 100 mil a year payroll should just say fck-off boras and others enough is enough…there just ball players …
What an arrogant a**hole. For someone to turn down 140 million dollars just blows my mind. For all the charity work players do, they don’t do enough if they look at 140 million and smirk
Why would he take the first offer? Even if it is a 140 million dollar offer :p. Still would be smart to sit on it for just a little while and see if anyone else is willing to up it a little. Or at least see what TX comes back with.
I didn’t mean to imply he should take the 1st offer. Instead of scoffing at 140 million and asking for more money and more years, Lee should at least acknowledge the offer and say he wants to see what other offers may be made.
“But if Lee wants to beat or match Sabathia’s $161MM for the highest total contract ever given to a pitcher…”
I don’t understand why this is relevant considering the “title” changes so often. Felix will be a 28 yr. old FA in 2014, Lincecum will be a 29 year old FA in 2013. Do we remember Kevin Brown because in 1999 he was the highest-paid pitcher? Or Johan Santana in 2008?
This would be the dumbest contract ever. that much money to an aging, often injured pitcher is downright madness….I don’t care how good he is, that would be a poor use of resources even if they are nearly boundless.
Other than the back spasms he had this year, which obviously didn’t bother him much in Sept (1.93 ERA, 0.85 whip in 28 IP and a great post-season) and some abdominal injuries in 2007 and 2003 he’s pitched over 200 inning in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Way to go Cliff…pull 7 years out of the Yankees. They will do it in the end. They have to do it…meanwhile they go public with their Jeter negotiations causing his agent to wonder what they are doing. The Yankees always value free agents first. Showing their true colors once again.
With contract offers such as Benoit, Buck and Lee, does anyone really think the Players Union will ever agree to a Salary Cap?
Don’t blame the ‘greedy’ players, blame the Billionaire owners and the stupid fans that support it.
I don’t think a salary cap will work in baseball.. they put one in the NHL and all its done is bridge the gap between teams, not really making the bad ones better, but making the good ones worse…
To me I always like the idea of a Free Agent Cap.. meaning teams can draft, sign and develop their own players and pay them whatever the heck they like.. but they can only have a certain percentage of free agent dollars on the books..
This would help teams offering outrageous contracts to relievers and average players
and would also help smaller market teams keep their players because they have the chance to get paid more by the team that drafted them, then on the FA market.
Sounds better than a salary cap, but in the eyes of the Players Union it stills restricts salary. The union doesn’t give a good squat about teams and compettition. Steriods testing as an example, if it enhances a players chance to make money its fine, otherwise they’re against it.
6 years $140 million, I love it, only thing is give me a giant 6′ 5″ shipping box for UPS, OR Fedex, or even the Post Office and tell Cashman before the Lee contract becomes official to make sure he burns the Burnett deal. Let’s see who takes him. How many pies do I recall in anyone’s face this past 2010 season? I think 1, Marcus Thames. Compared over a dozen in the 2009 championship season.
“A fool and his money are soon parted.”
Can we start thinking about names for when this team is loaded down with aging players under big contracts? please?
how about the “Crankies” ?
Don’t buy any of this hooey. I am a very super pissed Yankee fan right now. Great, he double hockey sticks great. Go after Gavin Floyd/john Danks, before you give me a heart attack when I see this is actually true. 6 years, 140M, estan loco?
“estan loco?”Sin duda alguna…pero ya tú sabes…
De donde tu eres? Yo soy dominicano… o cojes la clase de espanol?
Puueeees….digamos que soy de una de “las dos alas” de un pájaro…. 😉
De donde tu eres? Yo soy dominicano… o cojes la clase de espanol?
“estan loco?”Sin duda alguna…pero ya tú sabes…
SO you would rather trade 3 or 4 top prospects for guys who may not real “aces” rather than use your best and most replenishable resource which money? Y tu’, Henry….y tu’?
Gavin Floyd won’t cost you 3 of your top 4 prospects, neither will Danks. Por lo tanto, yo no los cambiaría por Floyd o Danks de firmar Lee.
Pero creo que cualquier acuerdo para Floyd o Danks le costará dos de Montero, Romine, Betances, Bañuelos o Brackman. Chicago no se va a dar a la basura. Las valoran de la misma manera que usted hace y no son caros.
or…
But I think any deal for Floyd or Danks will cost you two of Montero, Romine, Betances, Banuelos or Brackman. Chicago isn’t going to give them away. They value them the same way you do and neither are expensive.
Gavin Floyd won’t cost you 3 of your top 4 prospects, neither will Danks. Por lo tanto, yo no los cambiaría por Floyd o Danks de firmar Lee.
I Wish I Can have 140 milion dollars.
Guys, guys, this could be worse… Lee could’ve drop his agent and picked up Scott Boras, we’d be getting into the 5 yr/ 150mill dollar range by now. But nonetheless Lee better be holding a bat over his shoulder and develop some pop if he’s getting 6yr/140 mill. At least CC can rake it
I really don’t get some of the arguements against this offer. Of course offering $20 mil+ to any player, especially a pitcher is risky. But let’s look at things. The risk most seem to worry about is the performance of CC and Lee down the road. 35 is probably the age in which you really start to worry about decline.
CC is signed thru age 35. The only way his deal really becomes an issue is if a) He incurs a serious injury b) if he becomes a 4.50+ ERA type pitcher who can’t throw more than 150 Ip. Injuries can happen and decline certainly will. However, if CC becomes a 180-200 IP pitcher with a 4.10 ERA then while he won’t be worth an ace like $23 mil per he still has extreme value (see Andy Pettitte).
The same can be said of Lee. If the Yanks can squeeze 3 ace like years and 3 mid-rotation like years then that’s fine. And I think Lee is quite capable of producing 180 IP, 4.10-4.30 ERA years well into his late 30’s.
Also, Cashman knows quite well that he really can’t keep looking for the next Cliff Lee each and every year. That’s why he’s gone thru great lengths to try and develop and retain young arms like Hughes, Joba, Brackman, Nova, Betances, Banuelos, Phelps, Noesi and Warren that are either already in the majors or will start 2011 at AA or above. The hope is that CC, Lee, Pettitte and AJ will keep us competitive and gradually, when Pettitte retires after 2011 and AJ walks after 2013 you can slowly integrate some of these younger guys into the rotaion.
Position wise, Arod is the obvious potential albatross. If the Yanks can sign Jeter to a 3 or 4 year deal, while that will hurt the team to an extent, it won’t kill us. Tex is signed thru age 36. While you expect some decline, age 36 isn’t exactly retirment age for a 1B. He should still be a top 10 1b at that age.
C- Will probably be held by some combo of Montero, Romine or Cervelli.
LF-Gardner @ age 27
CF-Grandy @ age 30 signed thru age 32 (if 2013 option is picked up)
RF-Swisher @ age 30 signed thru age 31 (if 2012 option is picked up)
DH- Open
Yanks certainly have to be careful but the situation is far, far, far from as dire as everyone wants you to think.
Yanks have a mandate to be competitve every year. There is no time to rebuild. Signing Cliff Lee is the best things the Yanks can do for long term success because it kills the need for them to trade several prospects (among them would probably be Montero or Romine and some combo of Betances, Banueloes, etc) and use what has beceme their best resource which is money.
Sign Lee. If Pettitte comes back he already said it would only be for 2011. That allows you to further groom Nova who is ready now or one of the other 6 that are @ AA or AAA. Their cost controlled status should even out the major $$$$ pitchers in the front of the rotation. C, DH and the OF will balace out the over age guys like Arod and Jeter. If Montero can stick @ C for at least a couple of years then you can slide Arod to DH and slide Laird or possibly Nunez to 3B.
Worst case scenario is that CC or Lee incur a serious injury that keeps one of them out for a signifigant amount of time. Chance are that won’t happen to both. However the Yanks have shown the ability to swallow up huge amounts of money for players not on the mlb roster. In 2007 and 2008 the Yanks had $29 mil tied up into Carl Pavano and Kei Igawa who both were either on the DL or simply not contributing anything to the mlb club.
Furthermore, I have zero problem with the Yanks paying top $$$ to the best at their craft. It’s the deals like the ones for Matt Holliday, Jay Bruce, Jon Lackey that they have to circumvent and avoid. Pick and choose when you spend and who you spend on. Aside from the winter of 2008 you would be hard pressed to find the huge $$$$ spent to bring in new players and after were done this year I can’t see any current Yanks we’re going to be compelled to give enourmours contracts out to.
Tim Brown, tell us who that industry source was, so we can remember who they are for posting false rumors.
Yeah how do you misinterpret 6/140 for no offer at all
Yankees Have Yet To Offer Cliff Lee A Contract: Well this changes everything!