This year’s postseason was one of the better edition’s of recent memory. There was dominant pitching, unsung heroes hitting three-run blasts, and teams that either had never played in October, like the Texas Rangers, or hadn’t sniffed the playoffs in a long while, like the World Champion San Francisco Giants. I followed the Giants throughout the year, but my fandom turned religious after game 162 of the regular season. Now, while I put a Edgar Renteria jersey on my Christmas list along with “Fear the Beard” and “Let Timmy Smoke” shirts, I wait for the chips to fall in free-agency. The baseball season is over, which means the offseason has begun.
There is a tremendous amount of talent at the top of this year’s free-agency class. And the list is headed by Cliff Lee, who is coming off a disappointing showing in the World Series. Despite his inability to defeat Tim Lincecum the 31-year old lefthander will command a multi-year contract worth $100 million and there will be many teams willing to answer his request.
Who will be after him and who will obtain him? The Rangers, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington Nationals and others with money to spend will most likely be bidding.
Texas, bankrupt earlier this year, had to borrow over $400 million from Major League Baseball. Then a group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan took over the team from Tom Hicks and now, all of the sudden, they have the financial flexibility to give Lee whatever they desires. And they intend to be aggressive. Lee meant so much to their team in the short time he was there; they wouldn’t have been in the World Series without him.
I think the Cardinals could be a dark horse in the bidding for the superstar. St. Louis missed out on the playoffs, are sure to be aggressive as a result, and have the cash to throw at Lee. They have enough to lock him up and slugger Albert Pujols long-term, and since signing Lee would give them a leg-up on a majority of the National Leagues best and form a three-headed monster atop their rotation with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in the mold, their immediate insertion into playoff contention would give Pujols great incentive to re-sign. It’s just a matter if they want to put all their investment into two players. Combined with the contract previously given to outfielder Matt Holliday, three players would be under control for an approximate total of $380 million. I believe they will ultimately back off considering handing out such lucrative contracts to both Lee and Pujols could hamstring the team financially over the long-haul.
A team that has and will continue to shell out nine-figures is the vaunted Yankees. They have a very realistic shot at signing Lee. They have the most money, are in a huge market, and are World Series contenders year in year out. He could sign there tomorrow if he wanted to, but the Yankees chances are based solely on whether he wants to play for a team that demands so much and deal with a media that has shattered the psyches of a fair few prime talents through the years. His wife had a terrible experience with the fans at Yankees Stadium. She bashed them in the media, accusing them of spitting on her and spewing profanities. Not a good job on their part to make New York attractive to Lee.
That said, Lee has such a cool, calm, and collected persona that I think he would thrive with the Yankees. But I don’t believe he will end up there. Many experts do; I’m sure some MLB executives and General Managers do too. But he enjoyed being a Ranger. His presence in the clubhouse and on the field was tremendous. He was repeatedly praised by their organization. The team could give him what he’s worth. And, which could be the deciding factor, he would only have to pay $2.25 million in taxes in Texas compared to $11 to $15 million in New York. Taking all of this into account, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see him with Texas long-term. In fact, I would be shocked and disappointed if he wasn’t.
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Author and owner of the Swamigp’s Sports Blog, Nick loves to write about his hometown Portland Trail Blazers as well as the Boston Red Sox. 
With the latest news that Andy Petitte might be heading to Texas, could that sway Lee to stick around the Lone Star state? Hopefully so, the Yanks have enough of a competitive advantage already.
Anyone that thinks that Lee isn’t going to the Yankees is either a homer or hasn’t been following baseball over the last twenty years. Might as well start fitting him for the pinstripes.
Agreed. Lee would be a fool to go anywhere else.