Cliff Lee's agent Darek Braunecker suggested earlier this off-season that for Cliff Lee to pitch in 2016, he would need a 'perfect fit'. It's becoming increasingly apparent that Lee may not get the perfect fit before Spring Training starts, if it comes at all.
28 of the league's 30 teams will have pitchers report to Spring Training within the next two weeks, and according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, teams are still hesitant to commit to Lee.
There were teams kicking around scenarios for the veteran lefty this past week, but they are unsure about devoting $6 million to $8 million, plus incentives to Lee, who hasn’t pitched in the majors for most of two seasons.
Cafardo's note on Lee falls in line with what I've been saying all season. If Lee pitches anywhere near what he's capable of, $6 to $8 million would be a steal. Then again, we're not really sure what Lee is capable of at this point in his career.
Lee is 37, missed the entire 2015 season with an elbow flexor tendon tear and arm injuries limited him to just 13 starts in 2014. In his limited action in 2014, Lee posted a 3.65 ERA, and while advanced statistics suggest that he was unlikely, he really hasn't been elite since 2013.
All things considered, if Lee pitched like he did in 2013, and perhaps got a bit luckier, teams would probably get more than their money's worth for Lee at a $6 million to $8 million price-tag with incentives.
Teams are probably more concerned that Lee just won't be able to stay healthy. In today's market, Lee at a $6 million to $8 million price-tag would seem to be a lower-risk, high-reward potential deal. The problem is, if a team signed Lee now and he had a season-ending injury in Spring Training as he did a season ago, they would be out of all that money. At that point, it wouldn't matter if Lee was lower-risk at that price, because said team would have essentially flushed that money away.
It appears that Lee may end up in a standoff with teams. Perhaps as the season starts and some injuries take place, Lee will find his 'perfect fit'. But at a certain point, he may be forced to settle a bit in terms of guaranteed money, which isn't really that much of a risk when you consider that the Phillies are paying him a $12.5 million buy-out this year.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
