MLB Trade Rumors: Cliff Lee Might Be Keeping the Yankees from Dan Haren

Depending on which reports you believe the Yankees were either very close to acquiring Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren the other day or they weren’t close at all.

Either way one of the bigger obstacles the Yankees are facing internally is figuring out a way to add the $29 million Haren will be owed over the next two years and still finding a way to budget the $20 million or so per year that it would take to land Cliff Lee this offseason.

This is one of the reasons, according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post , that the Yankees are hesitant to do what they have to do to land Haren.

When it was Lee a few weeks back, the Yankees would stop at nothing to bring him to the Bronx, but this time around it is quite different.

If the Yankees get Haren, then they can’t afford Lee.

I don’t see them making a deal without figuring out some way to negate some of Haren’s salary.

Obviously Haren improves their chances greatly this season, but then you are talking about going into 2011 without Lee and this rotation—Sabathia, Haren, Burnett, Hughes, than this one—Sabathia, Lee, Burnett, Hughes.

On top of that the Yankees will be able to land Lee for just dollars, but would have to do significant damage to their farm system now and in the immediate future.

Not only would they lose major league ready prospects like Ivan Nova and Zach McAllister , but the DBacks are also asking for Manny Banuelos, who is not only their top pitching prospect, but a guy they can look to two or three years from now.

That means the effects of this deal would be felt for years, years without Cliff Lee.

It’s possible that the Yankees do this deal, but it will either have to include some way for them to save money or be entirely on their terms where they don’t have to give up both Joba Chamberlain and/or Banuelos.

After all, if they can plan on adding Lee then they are going to need another starter somewhere.

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