Cliff Lee Back To Phillies? No Way

Could Cliff Lee be a Phillie?

When Cliff Lee was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Seattle Mariners, he was as shocked as anyone. He thought he would be in a Phillies uniform for the rest of his career. Instead, he was shipped off to join Felix Hernandez in a pitching strong team, where he is pitching great. Seattle lacks the strong bats needed to back up strong pitching, so there record has struggled. Their plan? Tease the league by listening to trade offers for Cliff Lee.

Multiple teams are highly interested in adding Cliff Lee to their rotation, even if it costs them. Who wouldn't be? he's 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA, and a WHIP under 1. The Phillies, who claimed they couldn’t afford both him and Roy Halladay, have scouted Lee in a game against the New York Yankees. I’m not surprised that their looking for starting pitching, as they seem to be every year. But the fact that they scouted Cliff Lee about a week ago is strange. Would Cliff Lee even want to rejoin the team that he pitched great for yet was traded anyway? He probably wouldn’t mind returning if offered a contract, and maybe a no trade clause. But will it happen? I don’t see how. In order for the Phillies to reacquire the staff ace they rented last year, what would they have to give? Obviously some major talent. Could someone like Jayson Werth be traded? Probably, as he his under his last year on contract with the Phillies and will likely be too expensive to be a Phillie again next year. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Even if they would part with Jayson Werth, it would take at least one more person, likely two. It would probably take a middle to topnotch pitcher. Someone like Cole Hamels. Would the Phillies want to part with him? As a Phillies fan, I would hope not. He may not have the best record this year, but he hasn’t had much run support. He’s only 26 years old, and I don’t think they should part with him, even if he struggled in 2009.

Would Joe Blanton or Kyle Kendrick along with a prospect be sufficient (along with Werth, of course)? I doubt it. They both have had very inconsistent years. I doubt if the Mariners would be too interested in either. Even if Joe Blanton is starting to look better after staring the season on the DL. A minor league prospect isn’t major league ready yet, and I would think they may want someone to help the team now. In my opinion, the Phillies shouldn’t send their future, even to reacquire a great pitcher they had half a year ago. I don’t think the Phillies are even as interested as many people think. I’m not Ruben Amaro, but I just don’t see how they could possibly think they should trade back for him now. If they shipped him off, why would they so soon after try to bring him back. The Phillies will likely go after another starting pitcher that could be brought to the team for less value. I would love to see Lee in a Phillies uniform again, but I think the Phillies blew there chances with him when they traded him with little attempt to try to resign him. He could likely be on a team like the Texas Rangers by the end of the month.