Cliff Lee: 10 Teams He'd Fit Better on Than the New York Yankees
Ten teams (at least) would like to have Cliff Lee's services in 2011 and beyond.
Obviously, with their wealth and their World Series caliber roster, the Yankees are in the driver's seat for the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner.
The other 29 teams in Major League Baseball certainly hope that doesn't happen.
And one of those 29 teams might actually be lucky enough to steal him away from Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, and the Yankees.
Here are the ten best suitors.
No. 10: Baltimore Orioles
1 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Low
The Orioles were 32-73 late last season. Then they brought Buck Showalter in and the club went 34-23 to close out the season. His track record for building winners is pretty remarkable. Not that long after leaving the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Rangers, those teams were playing in the World Series.
That alone doesn't mean the club is going to instantly transform into a pennant contender, especially since they play in the toughest division in baseball. But it is a promising sign for the future.
Signing Lee will be terribly hard (because of the money he'll expect), but it would give the club a front line starter to mentor the young back end of the rotation.
And since their geographical rival, the Nationals, will be without Stephen Strasburg in 2011, they might be able to steal fans back with the signing of Lee.
No. 9: Minnesota Twins
2 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Low
Despite the new ballpark, the Twins still have to be considered "small market." Historically, they have been on the other side of the free agent coin; it's their players who leave them and sign for big money elsewhere.
But last year, they signed Carl Pavano, so maybe they have another, better acquisition in the works.
With Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Francisco Liriano, they have the nucleus to be a World Series team. But in 2003, 2004, 2009, and 2010, the club won the AL Central only to be defeated pretty handily by the Bronx Bombers.
Cliff Lee is as big a "Yankee killer" as there is in baseball. He defeated them three times in the last two postseasons and defeated them twice in the 2010 regular season.
In a five-game ALDS, he might be the difference maker.
No. 8: Detroit Tigers
3 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Decent
Jim Leyland has an excellent young staff. Justin Verlander is only 27 and Armando Galaraga and Jeremy Bonderman could be 15-game winners next season.
Adding Lee to their rotation would give them perhaps the best rotation in the American League. He certainly knows how to pitch in the AL Central, after seven-plus seasons in Cleveland.
The Tigers probably have more pressing needs: bullpen help, maybe adding another left-handed bat.
But as the old adage goes, "you can never have enough pitching."
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No. 7: Milwaukee Brewers
4 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Low
In the past two seasons, the Brewers have regressed since winning 90 games and the Wild Card in 2008.
Part of the problem was losing C.C. Sabathia to the Yankees via free agency. But if they want to fill that void, they can go out and sign another dominant lefthander who already has a Cy Young award: Cliff Lee.
The Brewers managed to win 76 games without a very good rotation last year. An excellent lineup was a main reason why.
But the team has to consider themselves at somewhat of a crossroads. Prince Fielder is a free agent in 2012, and so is Rickie Weeks. They can either let the season play out, deal them away from prospects, and start to sink back into the cellar...
Or they can sign Lee and take their chances at making a run. Milwaukee fans would like to see the latter.
No. 6: New York Mets
5 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Good
If anyone has the money to compete with the Yankees, it's got to be the Mets, right?
Their entire team is under new front office management, and what better way to signal the beginning of a new era than bringing in the number one free agent in the game.
Maybe Mike Pelfrey will be a consistent big league arm. And maybe Johan Santana will stay healthy and return to his old form. Either way, with Lee in the rotation, both are better off.
Even though they don't have a new manager yet, whomever they hire will certainly be able to fit Lee into the mix.
And maybe new general manager Sandy Alderson can convince Kristen Lee that Mets fans and Yankee fans may share the same Mayor, but they aren't anything alike. Although he'd have to hope she's never heard of Lady Gaga.
No. 5: Chicago Cubs
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Chance of Signing Him: Good
Mike Quade has a tall order on his hands next season. General manager Jim Hendry has an even taller order.
Who knows what will happen with Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster will be 34 next year, and the rest of the rotation is still in flux. Furthermore, the lineup is getting older. It's hard to believe, but Alfonso Soriano will be 35 in January.
But Lee is the type of pitcher who can dominate a game and collect wins virtually all on his own.
Cubs fans would love to have him, and he'd pack the house for each of his starts. Even if the club cannot get back into contention right away, that has to be tempting for the new ownership.
No. 4: Philadelphia Phillies
7 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Good
As crazy as it sounds, there are reports of a Cliff Lee-Phillies reunion.
Even crazier would be the thought of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, and Lee in the same rotation. That would be arguably the best since the old Braves staffs of the 1990s.
It's tough to say whether or not Lee would be interested in coming back to Philly, but he has now come up short in consecutive World Series. If winning is really important to him, then he could go to the Phillies (for less money than New York) and almost be assured a spot in another Fall Classic.
No. 3: Washington Nationals
8 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Good
Don't the Nationals have to do something to offset the monumental loss of Stephen Strasburg?
Signing (arguably) the best pitcher in baseball, to eventually pairing him with (arguably) the best young pitcher in baseball, would certainly excite Washington fans. Or at least keep them interested while they wait for the news that Strasburg has actually picked up a baseball again.
The Nationals do have a bright future ahead of them, but they play in an extremely difficult, pitching-rich division: Josh Johnson, Tim Hudson, Johan Santana, Halladay, Oswalt, etc.
Without Strasburg, Lee might be the only hope of them contending against those divisional aces.
No. 2: Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim
9 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Excellent
Anaheim is never shy about throwing millions at free agents. Even free agents who are on the "wrong end" of 30: look at Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, Torii Hunter, and Joel Pineiro.
This move would obviously be a bigger deal. They watched as their divisional rival, the Texas Rangers, cruised though the AL West, then (with Lee) into the World Series.
They can hurt Texas and help themselves at the same time by signing Lee. That would shift the balance of power overwhelmingly to the Angels.
No. 1: Texas Rangers
10 of 10
Chance of Signing Him: Excellent
Everything (aside from money) is in the Rangers' favor.
Lee's wife has talked about how great it is that Arlington is just a 20 minute plane ride from Arkansas.
The club wants him back. His pitching was a huge factor in the Rangers reaching their first ever World Series.
And Lee seemed to have an immediate and tremendous impact on the rest of the Rangers staff: Colby Lewis was 3-0 in four postseason starts, and C.J. Wilson won seven of his first ten starts after the team acquired Lee.
They'll likely need to get the so-called "hometown discount" in order to resign him. But Lee might be willing to take less money to remain the ace of the staff and return to another World Series.
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