Last weekend, based off of a report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, we wrote about how there was some confusion over former Philadelphia Phillies' ace Cliff Lee's free-agency. Cafardo cited various league executives who weren't sure their team would be willing to meet Lee's asking price, didn't know how his off-season throwing program was going, and were unable to pinpoint exactly when he intended to pitch.
Baltimore Orioles' general manager Dan Duquette appeared to voice some of those same concerns when he joined Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network's Power Alley this morning. (Tweet via Roch Kubatko of MASN.)
Duquette also said #orioles are "monitoring" market for Doug Fister. Said doesnt get sense Cliff Lee ready to come back. @MLBNetworkRadio
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) January 22, 2016
This seems to fall in line with what Cafardo said he was hearing from executives around the league last week.
While there’s been a great deal of inquiry, some teams say they haven’t been able to get a good read on Lee’s readiness. Is he ready to join a team right away or is he eyeing a midseason return after elbow issues wiped out his 2015 season?
It's also would be interesting to know if Duquette didn't think Lee was 'ready' because of how his off-season program was going or because Lee didn't want to sign at this time.
Earlier this week, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote the the Marlins were still interested in Lee, though he made it seem that Lee would probably be too expensive for the Marlins' liking.
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At this point, it seems like a distinct possibility that Lee won't be with a team before Spring Training and possibly even at the beginning of the regular season. This would allow him to continue to build up towards pitching again, while waiting out the market to see which team would be the best fit for him to sign with. It would, however, also leave more time for him to potentially have another injury before being guaranteed any money for 2016, which would be a risk on his part.
