MLB Breaking News: Cliff Lee To Sign With Philadelphia Phillies

In one of the more surprising developments of the baseball offseason, Cliff Lee has decided to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee's deal with the team is worth $115 million over five years. This signing comes as a surprise as most people expected Lee to either stay in Texas with the Rangers or sign with the New York Yankees.

In signing with the Phils, Lee turned down more money from both the Rangers and Yankees. The Rangers deal offered Lee $138 million over six years with a vesting option for the seventh year worth $23 million. The Yankees offer guaranteed Lee $132 million over six years with a player option for a seventh year worth $16 million.

This move gives the Phillies what could be one of the greatest rotations in baseball history. Along with Lee, the Phillies have Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. This definitively makes the Phillies the early favorite to win the National League. It also makes the Phillies a World Series favorite.

The biggest losers here are the New York Yankees. They have recently seen the Boston Red Sox improve significantly by trading for Adrian Gonzalez and signing Carl Crawford. The Yankees were counting on bringing in Lee to counter those moves. They now have few options to improve their team significantly this off-season.

The Kansas City Royals could also be a winner as a result of the Cliff Lee signing. Both the Yankees and Rangers will be looking for a top of the rotation starter. Zack Greinke is available. The Yankees and Rangers both have very rich farm systems which could lead to a bidding war for Greinke. The Royals should be able to get numerous top prospects in return for Greinke.

Lee is just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to get a deal worth more than $100 million. The other five pitchers are Kevin Brown, C.C. Sabathia, Johan Santana, Barry Zito and Mike Hampton. Three of those deals quickly came regrettable. The Phillies must hope that the do not regret giving Lee $23 million a year when he is 35 and 36 years old.